Gambit belongs to a subspecies of humans called mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. Gambit has the ability to mentally create, control, and manipulate pure kinetic energy to his desire. He is also incredibly knowledgeable and skilled in card-throwing, hand-to-hand combat, and the use of a bō staff. Gambit is known to charge playing cards and other objects with kinetic energy, using them as explosive projectiles.

He was part of a thieves' guild before becoming a member of the X-Men. Given his history, few X-Men trusted Gambit when he joined the group. There was consistently a source of stress between him and his on-again, off-again love interest Rogue. This was exacerbated when Gambit's connections to villainMister Sinister were revealed, although some of his team members accept that Gambit honestly seeks redemption. Often portrayed as a "ladies' man," Gambit has shown a more vulnerable side of himself over the years, especially when it comes to Rogue. Gambit remains fiercely proud of his Louisiana heritage and speaks in a Cajun accent.

Since his debut, Gambit has appeared in several solo series. As of 2013, there have been three attempts at an ongoing title starring the character. Gambit has also had two miniseries and starred prominently in Gambit & the X-Ternals, the X-Force replacement title during the Age of Apocalypse. Gambit was ranked 65th on IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time" stating that "Gambit is just the sort of tortured soul that X-readers love, and his continued presence in the TV and movie spinoffs cements his status as one of the greats," and in 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked Gambit as #4 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics". He has been featured in several animated series and video games based on the X-Men. Although he did not appear in the first three X-Men films, Gambit appeared on screen in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, portrayed by Taylor Kitsch.[3]Channing Tatum will portray Gambit in an upcoming solo film.[4][5][6]

After a brief appearance in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 (July 1990), Gambit's first major role was in Uncanny X-Men vol. 1 #266 (Aug. 1990).[7] Because the story in the annual is set after the story in #266, there is some debate among collectors about which issue is the "true" first appearance.[8] Gambit joined the X-Men and appeared in almost every issue until Uncanny X-Men #281 before moving to the X-Men title for a number of years. When Storm created a splinter group to hunt for Destiny's diaries in the pages of X-Treme X-Men, Gambit joined her in issue #5 and co-starred for the remainder of the series.

Gambit Volume One (released in 1993) and Gambit Volume Two (released in 1997) explored the character's mysterious past and his ties to the New Orleans Thieves' Guild.

Wolverine/Gambit: Victims teamed the two popular X-Men on a mystery involving what appears to be a modern-day Jack the Ripper.

Gambit and Bishop was advertised as a sequel to the character's first series[9] and involves the two X-Men in Stryfe's return.

Gambit has starred in three ongoing series. The first, which lasted 25 issues and two annuals, ran from February 1999 to February 2001. The second lasted 12 issues and ran from November 2004 to August 2005. The third series lasted 17 issues, from August 2012 to September 2013.

Additionally, Gambit & the X-Ternals, published in 1995, featured a group of renegade mutants led by Gambit who has been living on the edge of law during the Age of Apocalypse. In 2009, Gambit's past was explored in the one-shotX-Men Origins: Gambit. In 2010, the one-shot "Curse of the Mutants: Storm & Gambit" was released. In June 2011, he began co-starring in X-Men: Legacy.

It was announced at the C2E2 convention by Marvel Comics that in August 2012 Gambit gets his own solo series that takes him back to his roots as a charismatic, cool, mutant master thief, written by James Asmus and drawn by Clay Mann.[10] When asked about the upcoming series Asmus was quoted saying "This book focuses on the two most important aspects of Gambit: #1 that he's sexy, and #2 that he's the preeminent bad-ass thief of the Marvel Universe."[11] Marvel canceled the series at issue #17.[12]

Gambit was one of the principal characters in the 2013 series All-New X-Factor written by Peter David and drawn by Carmine Di Giandomenico.[13] The series was cancelled after issue #20, with David suggesting it would be some time before Marvel would consider featuring Gambit in a leading role again due to a persistently low sales record in this and previous titles.[14]

In October 2017, it was announced Gambit would co-star in his own comic with his love interest Rogue titled Rogue and Gambit set for release in 2018.[15]

Remy Etienne LeBeau[16] was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was kidnapped from the hospital where he was born, then raised by the LeBeau Clan Thieves' Guild, and given to the Antiquary as a tribute.

They referred to the child as "Le Diable Blanc" ("the White Devil") and believed he was prophesied to unite the warring Thieves' and Assassins' Guilds. Soon after, Remy was placed in the care of Fagan's Mob, a gang of street thieves who raised the child and taught him the ways of thievery. After living as an orphan on the streets, a 10-year-old Remy attempted to pick the pocket of Jean-Luc LeBeau, then patriarch of the Thieves' Guild. Jean-Luc took the boy off the streets and adopted him into his own family.[17]

Remy's bio-kinetic charging abilities manifested early in his teens, although he kept his powers secret from his family and friends, practicing his powers away from prying eyes. When he was 15, he accompanied his cousin Etienne Marceaux on his "Tithing," the ritual initiation test of the Thieves' Guild. However, it went awry as they were assigned to steal from the powerful immortal mutant Candra, who quickly captured them. Candra recognized Remy from an encounter that had taken place in her past but in his future (due to a time travel mission to the 19th Century Remy would take as an adult) and sold them to the deformed mutant gangster and child slave trader known as the Pig, who planned to sell them and others their age to HYDRA as boy soldiers. Remy used his powers to escape their holding pen, but the physically enhanced Pig quickly caught up to them. Remy discovered his signature attack when he picked up a playing card that Etienne had dropped, charged it, and threw it in the Pig's face, taking out his eye. Finally escaping his cliff top headquarters by diving into the sea, Remy was ultimately rescued by the Guild; Etienne drowned.[volume & issue needed]

Later during his teen years, Remy was first hired by Mister Sinister, then in disguise of Dr. Nathaniel Essex. Essex wanted his stolen diaries back from the Weapon X program. Remy and the Thieves' Guild accepted the mission and sent out Remy to retrieve said diaries. Standing in the cold, scouting the Weapon X facility, Remy couldn't bear the cold and swore he would steal a long, stylish jacket in New Orleans after the mission, which he did. Upon entering the facility, Remy witnessed Wolverine escaping from his adamantium procedure and found the diaries. However, deeming them to be too dangerous for Essex to have them, as Remy didn't fully trust him, Remy burned the diaries. He headed back home, only to find a disappointed Thieves' Guild and Essex.[18]

In an attempt to reconcile the Thieves' and Assassins' Guilds, Remy married Bella Donna Boudreaux, granddaughter of the head Assassin, whom he met at the age of eight. Unfortunately, he was challenged by her brother Julien to a duel after the wedding. In the duel, Gambit killed Julien, and he was exiled from the city, ending his romantic relationship with Bella Donna.[19]

After his exile from New Orleans, he wandered the world and became a master professional thief, making many contacts (and quite a few enemies). During this period, Gambit found he had an uncontrollable amount of energy flowing through him, to the point that he could not withstand it. Desperate, Gambit went to Mister Sinister for help. Sinister modified Gambit's power by removing a portion of Gambit's brain stem, making him significantly less powerful, but able to control the still considerably large amount of power in him.[20] Years later, a much-younger version of Mister Sinister surgically returned it, upon Gambit's request, when Gambit time-traveled to the 19th century.[21]

However, Sinister wanted the favor returned, so Gambit carried out various missions for him. For the last of these operations, Gambit gathered together a group of mercenaries which Sinister named the Marauders. Mister Sinister then ordered Gambit to lead Sabretooth, Blockbuster, Prism, and Riptide into the tunnels under New York City — while unknown to Gambit however — Mister Sinister had also ordered Scalphunter, Arclight, Harpoon, Malice, Scrambler and Vertigo into the tunnels also. The group of Scalphunter followed the Morlock Tommy and their goal was to wipe out the Morlocks. Gambit was unable to prevent the Marauders from killing a considerable number of Morlocks, but he was able to save a single child named Sarah, who would grow up to be Marrow, the leader of the mutant terrorist group Gene Nation. Gambit long kept his involvement with Mister Sinister and his mission in the massacre a secret from his fellow X-Men, much to their eventual displeasure.[22]

After wandering around the world, he encountered a de-aged and powerless Storm, and helped her escape from the Shadow King.[1] He then rescued her from Nanny and the Orphan-Maker, helping her battle them.[23] Afterwards, the young amnesiac Storm, who had reverted to thieving to stay alive, joined Gambit, and she eventually brought him back to the X-Men.[24] Soon after, Gambit helped the X-Men, X-Factor, and New Mutants battle the Genoshans.[25] Only Wolverine expressed his doubts about the Cajun, which led to a Danger Room duel between the two. Gambit was able to triumph by using a robotic doppelganger of Lady Deathstrike to distract Wolverine, while taking advantage of Wolverine's injuries, inflicted by the Reavers.[26] Gambit and the X-Men were then taken to the Shi'ar galaxy by Lila Cheney. Alongside the X-Men and Starjammers, Gambit battled Deathbird, the Imperial Guard, and a band of Warskrulls.[27] Upon their return to Earth, Gambit assisted the X-Men and X-Factor in battling the Shadow King, though he was temporarily controlled by the Shadow King.[28]

When the original five X-Men rejoined and the team was divided into two squads, Gambit became part of the Blue team under Cyclops' leadership. Alongside the X-Men, he battled Magneto and his newly formed Acolytes,[29]Fenris, the Hand, Omega Red, and Sabretooth,[30] and then Mojo.[31] Gambit then fought Bishop and was attacked by his estranged wife Bella Donna. Gambit recounted how he had fled from New Orleans after killing his brother-in-law in self-defense.[32] Alongside the X-Men, Gambit first encountered the second Ghost Rider. Gambit battled the Brood Queen and the Brood-possessed Ghost Rider, and witnessed the apparent death of his now ex-wife, Bella Donna.[33]

Gambit became romantically interested in one of his teammates, Rogue, and started flirting with her. Despite her off-putting manner and the obstacle of her uncontrollable mutant ability that prevented anyone from touching her, he began romancing and seducing Rogue.[34] Their strong romantic relationship was originally written as a one time, flirtatious moment; ironically, their romantic relationship is listed as one of the longest and most popular on-going deep and close romantic relationships in the X-Men series, probably only second to Jean Grey and Cyclops.[35] Although their early "courtship" portrayed him as very "devil may care" in his flirtation with her, later issues revealed that, beneath his bravado and swagger, he truly had genuine romantic feelings for her. Similarly, despite her initial aggressive rejection of his advances, Rogue found that she was not only flattered by his attention, but that she felt equally romantically attracted to him.

Many publishing years later, it had become apparent Remy had a dark secret. Sabretooth had hinted to it on numerous occasions during his "residency" at the X-Mansion, prompting Rogue to ask him to reveal whatever he knew about Gambit's past.[36] Remy was captured and brought before a mock trial held by Magneto, the mutant Master of Magnetism, then disguised as Erik the Red.[22] Rogue was forced to kiss him again, revealing that he had assembled the team of Marauders for Mr. Sinister that later killed most of the Morlocks. However it was also revealed that Gambit saved a single girl from the Marauders during the massacre. This apparent revelation and absorbing Gambit's own guilty memories caused Rogue to reject him. Gambit was similarly cast out of the X-Men and was abandoned in the frozen wastes of Antarctica.[37]

Starving, and haunted by the betrayal of his lover, Gambit made his way back into Magneto's citadel, where he encountered the psionic essence of a dead mutant named Mary Purcell.[38] The wraith-like Mary bonded with him, allowing him to survive until he reached the Savage Land, a hidden jungle nestled in the icy wasteland. There, Remy struck a deal with an enigmatic being known as the New Son.[39] In exchange for passage back to America, Gambit agreed to run errands with the help of friend Jacob Gavin Jr.[volume & issue needed] During this period, Remy's command over his abilities strengthened and amplified significantly.[volume & issue needed]

When Gambit's psyche absorption had worn off, Rogue spent months searching for him, to no avail. Gambit encountered Storm and Shadowcat when he attempted to steal the fabled Crimson Gem of Cyttorak for his new employer.[40] He agreed to return to the X-Men, mainly for his self-respect and for Rogue. At one point, he became the field leader of a branch of X-Men. His romantic love for Rogue was still intact, but her inability to control her powers made her break it off out of fear of hurting him.[volume & issue needed]

Meanwhile, the New Son revealed his true identity as an alternate universe version of Gambit himself, after organizing an assassination game for a cadre of superpowered mercenaries with Remy as the target.[41] During the final confrontation, Gambit burned out his enhanced abilities, thus returning to his original level of power.[volume & issue needed]

In Bishop's future timeline, Bishop stumbles upon a video from the past with Jean Grey making a frantic call to any X-Men she can find. She says that the X-Men have been betrayed by "one of their own" and it appears in the video that she is the last one left and is killed in the video. Disturbed by this, Bishop seeks "The Witness", a man who is said to be the last person who has ever seen the X-Men of the past alive. He enters a citadel of sorts where he confronts an old and withered but plucky man with long gray hair sitting on a throne, with two blonde women to either side of him. When Bishop confronts him as to who killed the X-Men the Witness acts as though he knows, but refuses to tell and Bishop is thrown out of the citadel.[volume & issue needed]

When Bishop comes to the X-Men in their original timeline, he meets Gambit and is sure that he is the same old man in Bishop's future and that it was Gambit who was the "Traitor" that killed the X-Men. For some time, he continues to watch Gambit's every step until he is finally convinced some time later that Gambit was not the Traitor (with Onslaught being revealed to be the traitor). The reason behind Gambit being called the Witness in Bishop's timeline has not been revealed. In the Messiah Complex, it was revealed that the Witness was killed by the Marauders in their efforts to destroy anyone with knowledge of the future.[volume & issue needed]

When Storm leads a team of X-Men in search of Destiny's diaries, the thirteen-volume Books of Truth, Gambit volunteered to join them, but Rogue — afraid that her increasingly uncontrolled powers would bring him harm — flatly refused to allow him along. He returned to thievery instead and was soon after framed by mutant businessman Sebastian Shaw for the death of the Australian crime lord named Viceroy. With the assistance of Rogue, Storm's team of X-Treme X-Men, and former Triad member Red Lotus, Gambit was able to clear his name. Soon after, Remy was captured and his powers were used to open a portal intended for an alien invasion of Earth led by the interdimensional warlord Khan.[42]

The X-Treme team's enemy, the enhanced human named Vargas, used the invasion as a chance to attempt to kill more of Storm's team, particularly Rogue who was depicted by Destiny as slaying him. Rogue's attempt at rescuing and shielding Gambit got her stuck and Vargas used the opportunity to impale them both. Gambit was seriously wounded, but Beast's surgical skills and Rogue's pleading with Gambit on the astral plane, resulted in both surviving their ordeal. As they lost their mutant powers, they decided to sort out their romantic relationship by retiring from the X-Men temporarily and moving to California.[43]

Although he is powerless, Gambit joins later Storm in infiltrating the US President's Texan ranch for obtaining information on a closed-group meeting proposing worldwide policies on mutants.[44]

Gambit and Rogue rejoined the X-Men soon after Sage jump-started their powers, and they were placed on Havok's team. In their first mission back, Gambit was temporarily blinded by one of his energized cards that went off by his face.[45] Rogue tried to console Gambit during his recovery, but their romantic relationship became strained once more as he became more and more frustrated with his blindness and their lack of touch after Rogue's powers returned. He started lashing out at Rogue, most of the time verbally. As a result, Rogue took some time away from Gambit.[volume & issue needed] While he lost his vision, Gambit developed an ability to read his playing cards like they were tarot cards and he was able to predict the attack by the Brotherhood.[46] A little while later, during Christmas celebrations, Rogue asked Sage to once again jump start Gambit's powers, in the process, healing his vision.[47]

During the story arc with Golgotha, Gambit revealed some deep insecurities he had about his romantic relationship with Rogue, saying that "Maybe dis no-touching thing is getting to me... more den I thought".[48] He also told Rogue that she should just get together with Logan, thinking that there was a hidden attraction between the two. As a result of the accusation, Logan kissed Rogue, but she broke it off before it caused any major damage. Gambit then began to realize what he was saying, questioning his romantic love for Rogue, but soon after began to suffer from hallucinations that he was fighting Mister Sinister.[49] However, Rogue and Gambit soon realized that Golgotha made them say things they did not mean and before the final battle, they "kissed" through their space suit helmets.[50]

Once back at the mansion, Gambit and Rogue moved into the same room to try rebuilding some intimacy, and began telepathic therapy with Emma Frost.[volume & issue needed] They soon found out that with all the emotional baggage going on in their minds, they were still unable to make physical contact mentally.[volume & issue needed] This would cause even more strain when the new student, Foxx, joins Gambit's team and attempts to seduce him.[51]

Rogue's foster mother Mystique was displeased with Rogue's choice of lovers and infiltrated Xavier's Institute by shapeshifting into a student called Foxx. She joined Gambit's squad in an attempt to ruin his relationship with Rogue. After Gambit resisted her charms, Mystique reverted to her true form and then offered Gambit something significantly more difficult to refuse: she transformed into Rogue and offered Gambit a Rogue with whom he could have a physical relationship, claiming that she was only trying to help relieve the increasing frustrations between the two lovers; "... if one of you could have some physical release...". Rogue eventually discovered her mother's presence in the school and that Gambit knew she was there. To date, Gambit denies that he slept with Mystique, but there is yet to be a verification of his account.[volume & issue needed]

Upon the return of Apocalypse, Gambit submitted himself to the villain and was transformed into one of Apocalypse's Horsemen, Death. Gambit intended to infiltrate himself into Apocalypse's ranks in order to protect the X-Men from the Dark Lord's eventual betrayal, but he miscalculated, as the transformation process warped his mind as well as his body. After becoming Death, Gambit's hair turned white and his skin turned deep black. Despite having his mind and body twisted, Gambit retained a large portion of his former self, stating to Apocalypse, "I'm both Death and Gambit", and he also remembered his love for Rogue as he could not bring himself to kill her. Gambit and Sunfire then returned to the Xavier Institute to claim Polaris. Gambit, in an attempt to free all ties with his old self, tried to kill Rogue and would have been successful had it not been for Pulse neutralizing Gambit's powers.[volume & issue needed]

After the X-Men defeated Apocalypse, Sunfire left with Gambit to help him clear Apocalypse's brainwashing and live as entirely new beings, only to then be approached by Mister Sinister.[volume & issue needed]

Gambit returned to his original appearance and powers (presumably with the aid of Mr. Sinister) and reemerged as a member of the Marauders.[52] On a mission for Mr. Sinister (involving obtaining knowledge of the future) Gambit and Sunfire encountered Cable on the recently evacuated island of Providence. Before the fight Gambit said, "I dropped that whole new look, wit' the help of a friend." He then asked Cable for use of his super-computer to answer a question referring to the phrase "one minute before dawn," which tied into the then upcoming Messiah Complex storyline. As a result, Gambit and Sunfire attacked him eventually forcing Cable to activate a self-destruct sequence destroying the entire island.[53] Gambit and Sunfire escaped empty handed.

During the fight, Cable noted that Gambit's accent sounded 'forced' either for comic effect or perhaps to indicate that things may not be as 'back to normal' as they seem with Gambit.[53] As Gambit returned to Mr. Sinister's base to discuss the next step of the plan, he reprimanded Mystique for shooting Rogue when they abducted her, being placated only by Mr. Sinister's assurance that Rogue was still needed and would survive. In a recent confrontation with Cannonball and Iceman, he seemed to sympathize with a beaten Cannonball. He interfered when Scalphunter was about to kill Cannonball by attacking Cannonball and by his actions he was able to save Cannonball from certain death. At the same time, he also destroyed Destiny's diaries, preventing Sinister and the Marauders from getting them.[54]

During the 2007–2008 "Messiah Complex" storyline, Gambit is personally targeted by Wolverine during the X-Men's assault on Mister Sinister's Antarctic base.[55] After being tortured by the Canadian mutant, Gambit reveals that Cable has the baby before Sinister manages to regain the advantage and drive the X-Men off with Gambit later revealed not to be harmed. Later, as Bishop attempts to kill the baby (after immobilizing Cable), Gambit and several of the Marauders quickly stop him with Gambit bringing a section of the ceiling down on Bishop. Knowing the X-Men will arrive in moments, the Marauders depart with the baby, but not before Gambit ponders what could make Bishop turn on the X-Men.[56]

Tracking Gambit using Cerebro, the X-Men find that the Marauders' hideout was on Muir Island. However, what they didn't know is that Gambit let them track him. It appears that Gambit, along with Mystique, have plans of their own for the newborn mutant as evidenced by his lack of surprise when he delivered the baby to Sinister, who then reveals himself to be Mystique as the real Sinister lies on the floor with shock etched into his face, and the fact that Mystique told Gambit that it is time for the next step.[57]

A flashback sequence shows that Mystique used Rogue's intensified powers to kill Sinister. In the present she explains that everything she and Gambit have done has led to this moment as foretold by Destiny. Mystique touches the baby's face to Rogue's in the hope of sacrificing the child to save her. After an energy burst Gambit snatches the baby, saying that Rogue would never want an innocent life used to save hers. However, the child was unharmed by Rogue's touch. Gambit gives the baby to Xavier and says he wishes to stay with Rogue. Shortly after, Rogue awakens and tries to kill Mystique. However, somehow the baby cures her of her intensified powers, as well as any psyches she had ever absorbed; this leaves her with the psyche of only one other individual: Mystique. She tells Gambit she needs time alone and if he still cares for her, he would not follow.[58][59]

In the 2008 "Divided We Stand" storyline, Gambit, received news that the Assassins Guild of New Orleans was approached to kill Charles Xavier, goes to track Xavier down and save him from possible danger. He manages to head off Xavier's attackers, defeating them in short order before he is joined by Xavier himself. They determine who the Assassins were supposed to kill next from a list Gambit pulls from one of the goons, which includes Juggernaut, Sebastian Shaw, and Carter Ryking (Hazard). Xavier makes the connection between himself, Ryking, and Juggernaut, but is at a loss with Shaw. They go to see Ryking, who was being held in a mental institution, only to find out that he had just died of a brain hemorrhage the night before.[volume & issue needed]

Gambit and Xavier then drive out to the Nuclear Research Facility at Alamogordo, the place where the fathers of Xavier, Juggernaut, and Ryking all worked at some point in their lives and is most likely where Mister Sinister was running his genetic operations on the X-gene. However, Xavier begins to suffer terrible headaches, and he and Gambit decide to wait it out in the desert for a few hours, where they are once again attacked by the Assassins Guild.[60]

Charles Xavier is abducted and taken to the Almagordo facility, where it is revealed that the employer of the assassins was Amanda Mueller, the head of the Black Womb Project, a former lover and protégée of Mister Sinister (as well as direct ancestress of the Summers' line), who plans to use Charles to activate Sinister's Cronus machine, so as to be able to revive herself with Essex's own superpowered essence. Meanwhile, Gambit manages to defeat the rest of the assassins with the assistance of Sebastian Shaw, and they form a temporary alliance of convenience to destroy the Cronus machine, which threatens Shaw as well, and rescue Xavier. They ultimately manage to succeed with a desperate last-minute life-or-death gamble when Gambit directly charges Shaw with biokinetic energy, giving him enough power to utterly shatter the otherwise indestructible machine.[volume & issue needed]

He begins searching Australia for Rogue and is again in the company of Professor Xavier.[61] Gambit, however, is unsure of this venture, mainly because of Rogue's request that she be left alone. He and Xavier both agreed that if Rogue did not wish for their help or presence, they would do as she wished and leave her be.[61]

When Gambit and Xavier make it over the plains, they find a completely mismatched landscape. Fearing it is Rogue's doing, they go in and find various parts of Rogue's past being projected around them, including her fight against Nimrod and being captured and beaten at Genosha. Gambit finds it hard to control his emotions seeing Rogue in so much pain, but Xavier reminds him that none of it is real. While in the Genosha prison cells, Gambit and Xavier find the Shi'ar parts hunters and they are told what is happening. They discover that Danger is the one causing the projections and is using Rogue's input from Danger Room sessions. Xavier decides it is better to find Danger first, coming to the conclusion that Danger is trying to push Rogue to some sort of realization.[62]

Eventually Xavier, Gambit and a group of Shi'ar pirates manage to shut down Danger. However, the Professor reactivates her and she defeats the pirates in turn when they attack Gambit and Xavier. After this, it is revealed that Rogue's powers never truly developed past their initial "nascent" stage, which was the reason why her powers never functioned properly. The Professor, now aware of this fact, uses his telepathy to tear down the mental walls that kept Rogue's powers from developing as well as removing the mental echo of Mystique. Finally Rogue kisses Gambit, with no ill side effect, revealing that she is in control of her absorption power.[63]

Gambit along with Rogue and Danger decide to go to San Francisco in order to regroup with the other X-Men. On their way there they are intercepted by Pixie who teleports them into the city which is in a state of chaos due to the anti-mutant and pro-mutant movements. Cyclops sends all three out in order to locate several missing students and bring them home. Gambit locates Trance, Dragoness and Toad who are being pursued by H.A.M.M.E.R. agents. Ariel and Onyxx appear and take Trance away for safety.[64]

Later on he encounters Erg and Avalanche who attacks Ares. Gambit intervenes only to end up being swatted aside by Ares. Danger and Rogue come to his aid which eventually leads to Rogue absorbing Ares's powers. Gambit then blasts him unconscious. Having for the moment absorbed some of Ares's power, Rogue easily dispatches a small group of H.A.M.M.E.R. agents and proceedes to steal their tank, along with Gambit and Danger, in order to find the rest of the students and Trance who didn't make it back to base. Trance appears to be lost in the city, and under attack of Ms. Marvel from the Dark Avengers team. Gambit, Rogue and Danger team-up to defeat the powerful female warrior, and Rogue eventually manages to calm Trance down. Remy, Rogue, and Danger then depart back to the X-Men's base.[65]

After the battle between the X-Men and the Dark Avengers is over, Cyclops orders Gambit to destroy the Omega Machine chair that Osborn had built to neutralize mutant powers. Gambit makes his way into the H.A.M.M.E.R. headquarters. There, he fights H.A.M.M.E.R.'s mutate guards Hijack and Input. Hijack is easily defeated, however Input is another story. Input uses his telepathic abilities to enter Gambit's head and discovers there are still left-overs from Remy's "Death" persona. Death re-emerges and defeats Input, and absorbed him into a playing card, which turns black upon doing so. Afterward, Remy somehow returns to normal, with a smile on his face. Gambit then completes his mission, destroys the chair, and returns to the X-Men.[66] When he made it back to Utopia, Gambit got angry at Cyclops for letting Rogue go up against the villain Emplate all alone. Remy tried to argue with Cyclops, but suddenly got trouble with mood swings and left the group. He changed back into his Death persona, and remembered how Apocalypse told him he would never be the same after undergoing the changing process. Gambit managed to calm himself down and transform back to his normal self, but he is worried about his condition.[67]

In the 2010 "X-Men: Second Coming" storyline, Gambit, along with Dazzler, Anole, Northstar, Cannonball, Pixie and Trance travel to Limbo to rescue Magik. Things go wrong when the ground starts to tremble and an army of monstrous demons attack the team. Dazzler calls upon Gambit for help during the attack, but Gambit sinks into the darkness, claiming "Remy's not home right now" leading the X-Men to be overwhelmed by the demons and Gambit transforming into his Death persona.[68] As Death, Gambit was able to transform two of his teammates, Dazzler and Northstar, into beings like himself by hitting them with his charged cards. After battling Cannonball, Death-Gambit was stabbed by Magik and Pixie with their magical swords enabling Gambit to reassert control over his form once more.[69]

In the 2010–2011 "Curse of the Mutants" storyline in the X-Men volume 3, Gambit and Storm were called upon to help steal the decapitated body of Dracula in order for the X-Men to resurrect Dracula in their fight against his son, Xarus.[70] He continues to appear as a member of the team as a regular of the series,[71] and also co-stars with X-23 in her self-titled series. He saves her from a burning building after she has been sent away following the events of Second Coming. She decides to pursue a quest to further discover about her past when Gambit decides to follow along to keep an eye on her.[72] After 17 issues of traveling the world together Gambit and X-23 part ways, as Gambit decides to stay at the newly built Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, while X-23 travels to the Avengers Academy.[73]

In 2012, writer James Asmus had intended to re-imagine the character as bisexual, but "word came down we wouldn't be redefining the character as such".[74][75]

After the events of the Age of X, Gambit chooses not to wipe his memory. He admits the extent of his feelings to Rogue and tells her that he cannot tolerate her indecisiveness. He decides that they should be apart until she is willing to be with him for good.[76] Gambit later joins the team of Legion, Rogue, Magneto, Frenzy and Xavier, in search of Legion's lost personalities that would not cooperate with him after his troubles in the Age of X.[77] Later on in the series, Gambit, Frenzy and Rogue travel to the Jean Grey High School of Higher Learning to become teachers and mentors of the school.[78] Gambit's role at the school is as a senior staff member.[79]

In Astonishing X-Men #48, Gambit becomes one of the principal members of a new team of X-Men, composed of Wolverine, Iceman, Northstar, Karma, Cecilia Reyes and Warbird.[80]

In 2014, Gambit joins the newest incarnation of X-Factor. This version is a corporate superhero team sponsored by Serval Industries, which partners him with Polaris and Quicksilver.[16]

Kitty Pryde sends Gambit and Rogue on a undercover mission to the island Paraiso. Their mission, as an estranged couple requiring relationship therapy, was to investigate the disappearance of mutants.[81] This results not only in them confronting their past, emotions, and relationship challenges, but also finding that their memories and powers (as well as those of the missing mutants) are drained into their clones by a mutant called Lavish. Although they are severely weak, they fight against Lavish and the clones, restoring their memories and powers. The couple later decide to learn from their past mistakes and reunite.[82] A conversation with Storm and Nightcrawler spurs him into proposing to Rogue at Kitty's and Colossus' cancelled wedding and to take advantage of all their friends being present. They are married by the rabbi who was present for officiating Kitty's wedding, with Nightcrawler and Iceman as Rogue's bridal party and with Storm and X-23 as Gambit's best women.[83]

Gambit is a mutant with the ability to convert the potential energy stored in an inanimate object into pure light kinetic energy, thus "charging" that item with highly explosive results. He prefers to charge smaller objects, such as his ever-present playing cards, as the time required to charge them is greatly reduced and they are much easier for him to throw. The only real limitation to this ability is the time required to charge the object: the larger it is the more time it takes to charge. Most charging takes place through direct skin contact. The power of his explosions is dependent on the mass of the object he is charging: for example, a charged playing card explodes with the force of a grenade. Gambit can also use his mutant abilities to accelerate an object's kinetic energy instead of converting its potential energy; for example, he can charge his Bo staff with enough kinetic energy and power to level a house.

Gambit's ability to tap kinetic energy also grants him incredible superhuman physical attributes (strength, speed, reflexes and reactions, agility, flexibility, dexterity, coordination, balance, and endurance), as his body constantly generates bio-kinetic energy and so is perfectly constructed for constant motion. This gives him an added edge that he has used to his advantage by developing a unique acrobatic fighting style.

The charged potential energy always in his body grants him the ability to build up charges of static electricity, and shields his mind from detection and intrusion by even the strongest and most powerful telepaths such as Emma Frost, Jean Grey, and even Charles Xavier. The shield has the added effect of destabilizing touch-based abilities.

Gambit also possesses an unusually strong and irresistible hypnotic charm that allows him to exert a subtle influence over sentient beings, leading them to believe what he says and agree with his suggestions. This charm is so strong and powerful that if given a chance, Gambit could even charm the Shadow King himself.[1] The hypnotic charm does not work on those who know about it.[84]

During combat, Gambit customarily wears a suit of highly articulated light body armor and uses an extendable metal staff. He is extensively trained in martial arts, particularly Savate[85] and the staff style art Bōjutsu. He is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, applying street-fighting techniques and acrobatics. Gambit is a skilled card-thrower, so he throws his charged playing cards at opponents with great accuracy. He also excels in all aspects of thievery, as he was adopted by the patriarch of a Thieves Guild.[volume & issue needed]

After Apocalypse used the Celestial Technology to transform Gambit into the Horseman Death, Gambit demonstrates the ability to convert inert materials into toxic substances (such as transforming breathable air into poisonous gases) and has the potential to ingest diseases and plagues.[86] It is apparent that the Celestial Technology never left his system, as seen during a telepathic attack against him that temporarily brought out the Death persona, which eventually killed the attacker. He also showcased new abilities he had not used before in this form – such as his Death Charge, which fueled his projectiles with dark energies that have the effect of either disintegrating or entrapping beings within his cards.[87] He could also convert people to his mindset like he did with Northstar and Dazzler.[volume & issue needed] Gambit's body did subsequently return to normal, suggesting that Gambit now has the ability to switch between his own and Death appearances.[88]

Gambit was temporarily given the full strength and potential of his mutant abilities to battle his counterpart New Son.[volume & issue needed] At his full strength and power, Gambit can control all aspects of kinetic energy down even to the molecular level, allowing him to manipulate the potency of his bio-kinetic energy to burn, cause molecular discomfort, incinerate, create timed detonations (and manipulate the potency of the energy release), fire energy blasts, defy gravity, heal wounds, charge objects within his line of sight without contact, and effectively exist as an energy being. Under such conditions, he holds sufficient power to cause another being to be unable to move—or unable to stop if in motion. He has been able to cause or simulate various energies by manipulating the kinetic energy present, such as infrared and microwaves, by increasing molecular agitation, or cold by reducing it. He was also able to use his powers to travel through space-time, cross dimensions, and remake realities outside of space-time by transforming himself into living energy which joined with the kinetic flow.[volume & issue needed] Finally, Gambit was able to heal himself by stimulating his cellular activity. These enhanced powers were burnt out after fighting New Son,[volume & issue needed] and Gambit has since returned to his original, somewhat lower power levels.[89] However, after Sage jumpstarted his powers again, he was able to heal his blinded eyes[volume & issue needed]—thus implying he is again able to heal himself—and is also able again to charge living things with energy, as when he teamed up with Sebastian Shaw to destroy Mr. Sinister's machines.[volume & issue needed] He was also given another boost when he was killed in an altercation with a drug lord and Faiza Hussain managed to restore him before it set in, enabling him to charge a bullet with twice as much explosive force than usual.[90]

Gambit was temporarily blinded due to a card in his hand being hit and exploding.[volume & issue needed] While blinded for a period of time, it was shown that Gambit had the ability to foresee future events using his playing cards through tarot reading.[volume & issue needed]

IGN ranked Gambit as the 65th Greatest Comic Book Hero of All Time stating "that for some, Gambit's presence on the team has always been redundant, but others have fallen in love with his swagger, charm, and dark past. Gambit is just the sort of tortured soul that X-readers love, and his continued presence in the TV and movie spinoffs cements his status as one of the greats."[91] In 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked Gambit as #4 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics".[92]

1.
Jim Lee
–
Jim Lee is a Korean American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He entered the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and The Punisher War Journal, before gaining popularity on The Uncanny X-Men. 1, the 1991 spin-off series premiere that Lee penciled and co-wrote with Chris Claremont, remains the best-selling comic book of all time, on February 18,2010, Jim Lee was announced as the new Co-Publisher of DC Comics with Dan DiDio, both replacing Paul Levitz. He has received a Harvey Award, Inkpot Award and three Wizard Fan Awards in recognition for his work, Lee was born on August 11,1964 in Seoul, South Korea. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, where he lived a typical middle-class childhood, Lee attended River Bend Elementary School in Chesterfield and later St. Louis Country Day School, where he drew posters for school plays. Having had to learn English when he first came to the U. S. presented the young Lee with the sense of being an outsider, as did the preppy, upper-class atmosphere of Country Day. As a result, on the occasions that his parents bought him comics, Lees favorite characters were the X-Men. His classmates predicted in his senior yearbook that he would found his own book company. Despite this, Lee was resigned to following his fathers career in medicine, attending Princeton University to study psychology and he submitted samples to various publishers, but did not find success. When Lee befriended St. Lees work on the Punisher, War Journal was inspired by such as Frank Miller, David Ross, Kevin Nowlan. During his stint on Uncanny Lee first worked with inker Scott Williams, during his run on the title, Lee co-created the character Gambit with long-time X-Men writer Chris Claremont. Lees artwork quickly gained popularity in the eyes of enthusiastic fans, in 1991, Lee helped launch a second X-Men series simply called X-Men volume 2, as both the artist and as co-writer with Claremont. Lee designed new uniforms for the series, including those worn by Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Psylocke and Storm. Actor/comedian Taran Killam, who has ventured into writing with The Illegitimates, has cited X-Men No.1 as the book that inspired his interest in comics. Stan Lee interviewed Jim Lee in the documentary series The Comic Book Greats, the other major series of the initial years of Wildstorm, for which Lee either created characters, co-plotted or provided art for, included Stormwatch, Deathblow and Gen¹³. The miniseries would consist of four books, two each produced by the respective companies, plus a prologue and epilogue book. Wildstorm produced Deathmate Black, with Lee himself contributing to the writing and he illustrated the covers for that book, the Deathmate Tourbook and the prologue book, as well as contributing to the prologues interior inks. Lee and Rob Liefeld, another Marvel-illustrator-turned-Image-founder, returned to Marvel in 1996 to participate in a reboot of several classic characters, while Liefeld reworked Captain America and The Avengers, Lee plotted Iron Man and wrote and illustrated Fantastic Four

2.
Marvel Comics
–
Marvel Comics is the common name and primary imprint of Marvel Worldwide Inc. formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, an American publisher of comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwides parent company, Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvels modern incarnation dates from 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others. Most of Marvels fictional characters operate in a reality known as the Marvel Universe. Martin Goodman founded the later known as Marvel Comics under the name Timely Publications in 1939. Martin Goodman, a magazine publisher who had started with a Western pulp in 1933, was expanding into the emerging—and by then already highly popular—new medium of comic books. The issue was a success, with it and a second printing the following month selling, combined. While its contents came from an outside packager, Funnies, Inc, Timely had its own staff in place by the following year. It, too, proved a hit, with sales of one million. Goodman formed Timely Comics, Inc. beginning with comics cover-dated April 1941 or Spring 1941, Goodman hired his wifes cousin, Stanley Lieber, as a general office assistant in 1939. Lee wrote extensively for Timely, contributing to a number of different titles, Goodmans business strategy involved having his various magazines and comic books published by a number of corporations all operating out of the same office and with the same staff. One of these companies through which Timely Comics was published was named Marvel Comics by at least Marvel Mystery Comics #55. As well, some covers, such as All Surprise Comics #12, were labeled A Marvel Magazine many years before Goodman would formally adopt the name in 1961. The post-war American comic market saw superheroes falling out of fashion and this globe branding united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications. Atlas also published a plethora of childrens and teen humor titles, including Dan DeCarlos Homer the Happy Ghost, Atlas unsuccessfully attempted to revive superheroes from late 1953 to mid-1954, with the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America. Atlas did not achieve any hits and, according to Stan Lee, Atlas survived chiefly because it produced work quickly, cheaply. During this time, the Comic Code Authority made its debut in September 1954, Wertham published the book Seduction of the Innocent in order to force people to see that comics were impacting American youth. He believed violent comics were causing children to be reckless and were turning them into delinquents, in September 1954, comic book publishers got together to set up their own self-censorship organization—the Comics Magazine Association of America—in order to appease audiences

3.
Uncanny X-Men
–
Uncanny X-Men, originally published as The X-Men, is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X-Men, a group of mutants with superhuman abilities led, the title was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, met with a lukewarm reception, and was eventually cancelled in 1970. Interest was rekindled with 1975s Giant-Size X-Men and the debut of a new, initially published bi-monthly, it became a monthly with issue #14. The series was placed firmly in the Marvel Universe, with guest appearances by Namor in #6, the jungle adventure hero Ka-Zar and the Savage Land were introduced in issue #10. Roy Thomas wrote the series from #20 to #44, Thomas and artist Werner Roth created the Banshee in #28. The X-Men #45 featured a crossover with The Avengers #53, after a battle with the Hulk in issue #66, the title ceased publishing original material and featured reprints in issues #67 through #93. X-Men was relaunched in May 1975 with Giant-Size X-Men #1, by Len Wein, the title featured a new, international, team consisting of Cyclops, Banshee, Sunfire and Wolverine, along with new characters Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Thunderbird. The original plan was to continue Giant-Size X-Men as a quarterly, chris Claremonts first issue as writer, #94, had all the original X-Men leave, along with Sunfire, Thunderbird was killed in #95. Moira MacTaggert, an ally of the X-Men, and later to be established as a former fiancée of Xavier. Marvel Girl became the Phoenix in issue #101 and this was followed by the first Shiar space opera story. Cockrum was replaced as penciller by John Byrne as of #108, Byrne became co-plotter, and during his run the series became a monthly title again. In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Claremont and Byrnes run on The X-Men second on its list of the Top 10 1970s Marvels. The Dark Phoenix Saga in 1980 led to a change in the line-up of the team, with the death of Phoenix, and Cyclops leaving the team to mourn for her. Comics writers and historians Roy Thomas and Peter Sanderson observed that The Dark Phoenix Saga is to Claremont and Byrne what the Galactus Trilogy is to Stan Lee and it is a landmark in Marvel history, showcasing its creators work at the height of their abilities. The new teenage mutant Kitty Pryde was introduced in #129 and joined the X-Men in #139, the Dazzler, a disco-singing, roller-skating mutant, was introduced in #130, but did not join the team, instead headlining her own solo title. Byrne plotted the story wanting to depict the Sentinels as a threat to the existence of the mutant race. Mystiques Brotherhood changed sides and became the government-backed Freedom Force in #199 and their first action was to capture Magneto, who had begun associating with the X-Men during the Secret Wars II crossover. Magneto surrenders himself, but escapes after his trial is abandoned, the Morlocks, a group of disfigured mutants living underneath New York City, were introduced in #169

4.
Chris Claremont
–
Christopher S. Claremont scripted many classic stories, including The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past, on which he collaborated with John Byrne. He developed the character of Wolverine into a fan favorite, X-Men #1, the 1991 spinoff series premiere that Claremont co-wrote with Jim Lee, remains the best-selling comic book of all time, according to Guinness World Records. In 2015, Claremont and his X-Men collaborator John Byrne were entered into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame, Claremont was born November 25,1950 in London, England, the son of an internist father and a pilot/caterer mother. His family moved to the United States when he was three, and he was raised primarily on Long Island and he read works by science fiction writers such as Robert Heinlein, as well as writers of other genres such as Rudyard Kipling and C. S. Forester. Claremont is Jewish on his mothers side, and lived in a kibbutz in Israel during his youth. Instead, when he began at Bard College, he did so as a political theorist, studying acting and political theory and his first professional sale was a prose story. Thomas later assigned Claremont his first professional scripting assignment, on Daredevil, in 1974, as an entry into regular comics writing, Claremont was given the fledgling title Iron Fist, which teamed him with John Byrne, their second collaboration after Marvel Premiere. Though his acting career did not yield great success, he functioned well at Marvel, one of the first new characters created by Claremont was Madrox the Multiple Man in Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4. Claremont approached the job as a actor, developing the characters by examining their motives, desires. This approach drew immediate positive reaction, according to former Marvel editor-in-chief Bob Harras, He lived it and breathed it. He would write whole paragraphs about what people were wearing and he really got into these peoples thoughts, hopes, dreams. Claremont introduced new supporting characters to the X-Men series including Moira MacTaggert in issue #96, Marvel Girl, one of Marvels first female heroes, underwent a huge transformation into the omnipotent Phoenix. Issue #107 saw the introduction of the Starjammers as well as the departure of artist Dave Cockrum, Claremont began his collaboration with artist John Byrne in the following issue. During his 17 years as X-Men writer, Claremont wrote or co-wrote many classic X-Men stories, such as The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past. Comics writers and historians Roy Thomas and Peter Sanderson observed that The Dark Phoenix Saga is to Claremont and Byrne what the Galactus Trilogy is to Stan Lee and it is a landmark in Marvel history, showcasing its creators work at the height of their abilities. In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Claremont and Byrnes run on The X-Men second on its list of the Top 10 1970s Marvels, Claremont and artist Frank Miller crafted a Wolverine limited series in 1982. With artist Walt Simonson, Claremont produced The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans in 1982, the New Mutants were introduced by Claremont and Bob McLeod in Marvel Graphic Novel #4 and received their own ongoing series soon after. The second X-Men film was based on his X-Men graphic novel God Loves

5.
All-New X-Factor
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All-New X-Factor is an ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics which debuted in January 2014, as part of the All-New Marvel NOW. event. Focusing on a new iteration of the X-Factor superhero team, the series is written by Peter David and is a follow up to his previous book,3, whose incarnation of X-Factor was a private investigation company. All New X-Factor was cancelled with issue 20 due to low sales, Peter Davids writing of Quicksilver earned the character a 2014 @ssie award from Aint It Cool News. AICNs Matt Adler commented that David writes the character best, and that the arrogant, impatient speedster made the title worth following

6.
X-Men
–
The X-Men is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the characters first appeared in The X-Men #1 and they are among the most recognizable and successful intellectual properties of Marvel Comics, appearing in numerous books, television shows, films, and video games. The X-Men are mutants, a subspecies of humans who are born with superhuman abilities, the X-Men fight for peace and equality between normal humans and mutants in a world where antimutant bigotry is fierce and widespread. They are led by Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X and their archenemy is Magneto, a powerful mutant with the ability to generate and control magnetic fields. Professor X and Magneto have opposing views and philosophies regarding the relationship between mutants and humans, Professor X is the founder of Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters at a location commonly called the X-Mansion, which recruits mutants from around the world. Located in Westchester County, New York, the X-Mansion is the home and training site of the X-Men. The founding five members of the X-Men who appear in The X-Men #1 are Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, since then, dozens of mutants from various countries and diverse backgrounds have held membership as X-Men. In 2004, Stan Lee recalled, I couldnt have everybody bitten by a spider or exposed to a gamma ray explosion. And I took the way out. I said to myself, Why dont I just say theyre mutants, in a 1987 interview, Jack Kirby said, The X-Men, I did the natural thing there. What would you do with mutants who were just plain boys and girls, so I gave them a teacher, Professor X. Of course, it was the thing to do, instead of disorienting or alienating people who were different from us, I made the X-Men part of the human race. Possibly, radiation, if it is beneficial, may create mutants that’ll save us instead of doing us harm. I felt that if we train the mutants our way, they’ll help us - and not only help us, and so, we could all live together. Lee devised the title after Marvel publisher Martin Goodman turned down the initial name, The Mutants. Within the Marvel Universe, the X-Men are widely regarded to have named after Professor Xavier himself. Xavier however claims that the name X-Men was never chosen as a tribute to himself, the name is also linked to the X-Gene, an unknown gene that causes the mutant evolution. The original explanation for the name, as provided by Xavier in The X-Men #1, is that mutants possess an extra power, one which ordinary humans do not

7.
Marauders (comics)
–
The Marauders is a team of fictional supervillain characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Marauders first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #210 and were created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita, the Marauders make their first appearance during the 1986 crossover, the Mutant Massacre, slaughtering a large percentage of the mutant community living beneath Manhattan known as the Morlocks. After the Mutant Massacre, Sabretooth attacked some kids in the tunnels in Daredevil #238, in Uncanny X-Men #213, Sabretooth attacks Xaviers mansion while Malice succeeds in possessing Dazzler but is driven out. The Marauders attack Polaris, whom Malice takes possession of and becomes leader over the Marauders, the Marauders then try to assassinate Madelyne Pryor in issues #221-222. It also shows flashbacks of them in X-Factor #39, and Uncanny X-Men #215, during the 1989 crossover Inferno, the dead Marauders mysteriously reappear alive in Uncanny X-Men #240 and battle the X-Men during the demonic invasion of Manhattan. Blockbuster, Malice, and Sabretooth later attack the X-Men at Xaviers mansion in issue #243. X-Men #34 reveals that Sinister is able to clone the Marauders back to life, in Gambit #9, the clone samples for Sabretooth were seemingly destroyed. However, in issues of X-Force, a clone of Sabretooth was shown. The Marauders also chase after the mutant Threnody in X-Man issues #13-18-19, Uncanny X-Men #350 reveals that it was Gambit who had organized the modern day Marauders, although he was never actually a member. It also says that it was he who brought them down to the Morlock tunnels and he had no idea of their intentions, and when they started killing all of them, all he could do is save a little girl named Sarah. This contradicts with previous versions of the story since in Uncanny X-Men #210, it was shown that the Marauders followed a young Morlock girl and this is one of several contradictions between the two versions of the story. The Marauders also make an appearance in Cable Annual 99, disguised as minions of Apocalypse, the Marauders return in X-Men #200, attacking the X-Men and Providence to obtain certain mutants on a list. On the list is a group of people or places that have information of the future, in Cable and Deadpool #42 and X-Men #200, Sunfire and Gambit seemingly killed Cable, while Senyaka attacked Deadpool. Also in X-Men #200, Riptide killed Quiet Bill, and Scalphunter, in issue #202, it is revealed that Arclight brought down the Wohnhaus Strucker, a building that has ties to the future. Also in issue #202, it is revealed that Harpoon impaled Vargas with harpoons until his death, the Dark Mother was another victim taken out. They also thought they killed Gateway, although he survived, Bishop was also sought after in these attacks. Later in issue #202, the Acolytes attack the X-Mansion looking for Destinys diaries and they also go to take out Blindfold, but she saw them coming and prevented her death. In issue #203, Iceman and Cannonball go against the Marauders for the diaries, the Marauders also play a major role in X-Men, Messiah Complex storyline

8.
Horsemen of Apocalypse
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The Horsemen of Apocalypse are a team of fictional supervillain characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Horsemen of Apocalypse is first mentioned in X-Factor #10, and makes their appearance in X-Factor #15 where they were created by writer Louise Simonson. The first comic-book characters of this name were a team of aliens from the race known as the Axi-Tun that attacked Earth in ancient. They appeared in Giant Size Fantastic Four #3, the group consists of four individuals that have been genetically altered and mentally conditioned to serve the ancient mutant, Apocalypse, either willingly or forcibly. They are enhanced or endowed with new abilities, and are given the same titles based upon the biblical Four Horsemen. While Apocalypse has empowered other individuals to do his bidding, the Four Horsemen remain his elite minions, before Apocalypse assembled his first modern incarnation of Horsemen, it was revealed that there were other, lesser known groups of Horsemen. Currently the first known group of Horsemen of Apocalypse dates from the 11th century and were sent by Apocalypse to kill a pagan named Folkbern Logan in medieval London. To fill the role of Pestilence, Apocalypse recruited a mutant that greatly resembles Orb with his arms replaced by wings which allowed him to fly, for the role of Famine, Apocalypse had chosen a Native American female. For the role of War, Apocalypse had recruited a mutant that resembles a mummy, for the role of Death, Apocalypse recruited a mutant who seemed to possess a gas-like body which allowed him to fly. Thor comes to Folkberns aid and kills the Horsemen of Apocalypse single-handedly, in X-Men, Apocalypse vs. Dracula #1, it was revealed that a Horseman of War led the Riders of the Dark, and single-handedly defeated the pre-vampire Draculas army as well as Dracula himself. In the 20th century, Apocalypse recruits Plague, a member of the Morlocks and he approaches ex-soldier Abraham Lincoln Kieros and grants him the position of War. An anorexic girl named Autumn Rolfson is Apocalypses third choice and Autumn is given the position of Famine, Apocalypse afterwards saved the dewinged Angel from his sabotaged, exploding plane and chooses him to be his fourth and final Horseman, Death. The Four Horsemen were forced to battle one another for leadership, in their first battle against X-Factor, the Horsemen were nearly defeated until Death appeared, shocking his former comrades. While X-Factor is strapped down, the Four Horsemen are sent out by Apocalypse to destroy New York City, meanwhile, Caliban confronts Apocalypse and asks for power to avenge his fellow Morlocks. Apocalypse retreats with his remaining Horsemen and the newly recruited Caliban, the X-Men later defeat the Horsemen when they discover their hideout. Apocalypse set Hulk against the Juggernaut to test the latters strength, Hulk was able to stop and overcome the Juggernaut, after being empowered by energy from Franklin Richards Heroes Reborn pocket universe. He likewise overloaded the Absorbing Man, but came to his senses after he had injured his friend Rick Jones, during The Twelve saga, Apocalypse selected a new group of Horsemen to collect the chosen mutants written in Destinys Diary. This new group featured the cybernetic mutant Ahab as Famine, the Shiar Deathbird as War, and the Morlock, Caliban, as the Horseman of Death, Apocalypse had abducted Wolverine and replaced him with a Skrull to prevent his absence being noted

9.
American comic book
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An American comic book is a thin periodical, typically 32-pages, containing primarily comics content. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics and this was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II. After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the book industry rapidly expanded, and genres such as horror, crime. The 1950s saw a decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake of television. The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a revival. Since the later 20th century, comic books have gained note as collectable items, Comic shops cater to fans, and particularly valuable issues have fetched in excess of a million dollars. Systems of grading comic books have emerged with plastic sleeves and cardboard backing available to maintain the condition of comic books, standard comics are 6.625 inches ×10.25 inches and about 32 pages long. While comics can be the work of a creator, the labour of making them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be a writer and artist, or there may be separate artists for the characters. The process begins with the coming up with an idea or concept, then working it into a plot and story. After the art production, letters are placed on the page, the creative team, the writers and artists, may work with a comic book publisher for help with marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A distributor like Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest in the U. S. helps to distribute the product to retailers. Another part of the involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator. Fan art and letters to the editor were printed in the back of the book until the early 21st century. Comic specialty stores did help encourage several waves of independently-produced comics, the development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. The G. W. Dillingham Company published the first known proto-comic-book magazine in the U. S, the Yellow Kid in McFaddens Flats, in 1897. The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes text by E. W. Townsend, measured 5×7 inches. The neologism comic book appears on the back cover, despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward, the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Companys Comic Monthly, did not appear until 1922

10.
Uncanny X-Men Annual
–
Uncanny X-Men, originally published as The X-Men, is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X-Men, a group of mutants with superhuman abilities led, the title was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, met with a lukewarm reception, and was eventually cancelled in 1970. Interest was rekindled with 1975s Giant-Size X-Men and the debut of a new, initially published bi-monthly, it became a monthly with issue #14. The series was placed firmly in the Marvel Universe, with guest appearances by Namor in #6, the jungle adventure hero Ka-Zar and the Savage Land were introduced in issue #10. Roy Thomas wrote the series from #20 to #44, Thomas and artist Werner Roth created the Banshee in #28. The X-Men #45 featured a crossover with The Avengers #53, after a battle with the Hulk in issue #66, the title ceased publishing original material and featured reprints in issues #67 through #93. X-Men was relaunched in May 1975 with Giant-Size X-Men #1, by Len Wein, the title featured a new, international, team consisting of Cyclops, Banshee, Sunfire and Wolverine, along with new characters Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Thunderbird. The original plan was to continue Giant-Size X-Men as a quarterly, chris Claremonts first issue as writer, #94, had all the original X-Men leave, along with Sunfire, Thunderbird was killed in #95. Moira MacTaggert, an ally of the X-Men, and later to be established as a former fiancée of Xavier. Marvel Girl became the Phoenix in issue #101 and this was followed by the first Shiar space opera story. Cockrum was replaced as penciller by John Byrne as of #108, Byrne became co-plotter, and during his run the series became a monthly title again. In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Claremont and Byrnes run on The X-Men second on its list of the Top 10 1970s Marvels. The Dark Phoenix Saga in 1980 led to a change in the line-up of the team, with the death of Phoenix, and Cyclops leaving the team to mourn for her. Comics writers and historians Roy Thomas and Peter Sanderson observed that The Dark Phoenix Saga is to Claremont and Byrne what the Galactus Trilogy is to Stan Lee and it is a landmark in Marvel history, showcasing its creators work at the height of their abilities. The new teenage mutant Kitty Pryde was introduced in #129 and joined the X-Men in #139, the Dazzler, a disco-singing, roller-skating mutant, was introduced in #130, but did not join the team, instead headlining her own solo title. Byrne plotted the story wanting to depict the Sentinels as a threat to the existence of the mutant race. Mystiques Brotherhood changed sides and became the government-backed Freedom Force in #199 and their first action was to capture Magneto, who had begun associating with the X-Men during the Secret Wars II crossover. Magneto surrenders himself, but escapes after his trial is abandoned, the Morlocks, a group of disfigured mutants living underneath New York City, were introduced in #169

11.
Kinetic energy
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In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes, the same amount of work is done by the body in decelerating from its current speed to a state of rest. In classical mechanics, the energy of a non-rotating object of mass m traveling at a speed v is 12 m v 2. In relativistic mechanics, this is an approximation only when v is much less than the speed of light. The standard unit of energy is the joule. The adjective kinetic has its roots in the Greek word κίνησις kinesis, the dichotomy between kinetic energy and potential energy can be traced back to Aristotles concepts of actuality and potentiality. The principle in classical mechanics that E ∝ mv2 was first developed by Gottfried Leibniz and Johann Bernoulli, Willem s Gravesande of the Netherlands provided experimental evidence of this relationship. By dropping weights from different heights into a block of clay, Émilie du Châtelet recognized the implications of the experiment and published an explanation. The terms kinetic energy and work in their present scientific meanings date back to the mid-19th century, early understandings of these ideas can be attributed to Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis, who in 1829 published the paper titled Du Calcul de lEffet des Machines outlining the mathematics of kinetic energy. William Thomson, later Lord Kelvin, is given the credit for coining the term kinetic energy c, energy occurs in many forms, including chemical energy, thermal energy, electromagnetic radiation, gravitational energy, electric energy, elastic energy, nuclear energy, and rest energy. These can be categorized in two classes, potential energy and kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the movement energy of an object, Kinetic energy can be transferred between objects and transformed into other kinds of energy. Kinetic energy may be best understood by examples that demonstrate how it is transformed to, for example, a cyclist uses chemical energy provided by food to accelerate a bicycle to a chosen speed. On a level surface, this speed can be maintained without further work, except to overcome air resistance, the chemical energy has been converted into kinetic energy, the energy of motion, but the process is not completely efficient and produces heat within the cyclist. The kinetic energy in the moving cyclist and the bicycle can be converted to other forms, for example, the cyclist could encounter a hill just high enough to coast up, so that the bicycle comes to a complete halt at the top. The kinetic energy has now largely converted to gravitational potential energy that can be released by freewheeling down the other side of the hill. Since the bicycle lost some of its energy to friction, it never regains all of its speed without additional pedaling, the energy is not destroyed, it has only been converted to another form by friction

12.
Card throwing
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Card throwing is the art of throwing standard playing cards with great accuracy and/or force. First popularized in the West among stage magicians during the 1800s, techniques used among performers today are attributed to stage magicians in the late 19th Century. The exact origins of flying card tricks are unknown, but Alexander Herrmann is widely attributed with first including card throwing in a major act and he would use custom made cards, sign them, and then throw them into the audience as potential souvenirs. The magician Howard Thurston also used card throwing as a part of his act. The cards that used, however, were heavier than those commonly used today. Many magicians commissioned specially printed cards, known as throwing cards, throwouts, generally, such cards featured the image and name of the magician, and often featured optical illusions, mystical images, and text and graphics from other advertisers. Today, magicians all over the world use card throwing as parts of their act. Ricky Jay, Rokas Bernatonis, Jim Karol, and Rick Smith, Jr. all world class card throwers, playing cards and similar paper objects have very little mass and are not very aerodynamic except under certain circumstances. Simply throwing a card with no technique usually will result in it fluttering about, achieving accuracy, distance and force with a card requires giving it both lateral speed and angular momentum along its z-axis. The spin creates gyroscopic stabilization so that the flat profile remains mostly parallel to the direction of travel. There are multiple techniques for throwing cards in this manner, the wrist is cocked inward at a 90 degree angle, then flicked briskly outward, propelling the card. For distance and power, the technique adds motion of the forearm bending at the elbow straight outwards from a 90 degree angle simultaneous to the motion of the wrist. In another method created by Howard Thurston, the card is gripped between the first and second fingers, usually of the hand and propelled in a similar manner. There are also variations on both grips and throwing styles, some depend on the type of flight the magician is attempting to achieve. Forceful throws will usually spiral somewhat on the way to the target when thrown at long distance, since most cards are not perfectly flat. With a given deck, the bend of the cards are similar enough to each other that this spiral is easily predictable. It is also possible to throw a card very flat at lower speeds to get the card to land in or on top of something. Many tricks done with thrown cards are designed to not only impress with the magicians dexterity, but work on a theme in stage magic

13.
Hand-to-hand combat
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Hand-to-hand combat is a lethal or non-lethal physical confrontation between two or more persons at very short range that does not involve the use of firearms or other distance weapons. Combat within close quarters is commonly termed close combat or close-quarters combat and it may include lethal and non-lethal weapons and methods depending upon the restrictions imposed by civilian law, military rules of engagement, or ethical codes. Close combat using firearms or other weapons by military combatants at the tactical level is modernly referred to as close quarter battle. Hand-to-hand combat is the most ancient form of fighting known, a majority of cultures have their own particular histories related to close combat, and their own methods of practice. There are many varieties within the arts, including boxing and wrestling. Other variations include the gladiator spectacles of ancient Rome and medieval tournament events such as jousting, military organizations have always taught some sort of unarmed combat for conditioning and as a supplement to armed combat. Soldiers in China were trained in unarmed combat as early as the Zhou Dynasty, by 1944 some German rifles were being produced without bayonet lugs. Close Quarters Combat, or World War II combatives, was codified by William Ewart Fairbairn. After the May Thirtieth Movement riots, which resulted in a massacre, Fairbairn was charged with developing an auxiliary squad for riot control. After absorbing the most appropriate elements from a variety of experts, from China, Japan and elsewhere. The aim of his system was simply to be as brutally effective as possible. It was also a system that, unlike traditional Eastern martial-arts that required years of intensive training, the method incorporated training in point shooting and gun combat techniques, as well as the effective use of more ad hoc weapons such as chairs or table legs. During the Second World War, Fairbairn was brought back to Britain, during this period, he expanded his Shanghai Method into the Silent Killing Close Quarters Combat method for military application. This became standard training for all British Special Operations personnel. He also designed the pioneering Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife, which was adopted for use by British, in 1942, he published a textbook for close quarters combat training called Get Tough. U. S. Applegate published his work in 1943, called Kill or Get Killed, during the war, training was provided to British Commandos, the Devils Brigade, OSS, U. S. Army Rangers and Marine Raiders. The prevalence and style of combat training often changes based on perceived need. Elite units such as forces and commando units tend to place higher emphasis on hand-to-hand combat training

14.
Rogue (comics)
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Rogue is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. She debuted in Avengers Annual #10 as a villain but then soon joined the X-Men. Rogue is part of a subspecies of humans called mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities, Rogue has the involuntary ability to absorb and sometimes also remove the memories, physical strength, and superpowers of anyone she touches. Therefore, Rogue considers her powers a curse, for most of her life, she limited her physical contact with others, including her on-off love interest, Gambit, but, after many years, Rogue finally gained full control over her mutant ability. Hailing from the fictional Caldecott County, Mississippi, Rogue is the X-Mens self-described southern belle, a runaway, she was adopted by Mystique of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and grew up as a villain. After Rogue permanently absorbs Ms. Marvels psyche and Kree powers, she reforms and turns to the X-Men, Rogues real name and early history were not revealed until nearly 20 years after her introduction. Until the back story provided by Robert Rodi in the ongoing Rogue series and her name was revealed as Anna Marie, although her surname is still unknown. She has sometimes adopted the name Raven, which is the first name of her foster mother Mystique, Rogue has been one of the most prominent members of the X-Men since the 1980s. She was ranked tenth in Comics Buyers Guides 100 Sexiest Women in Comics list, Rogue has been featured in most of the X-Men animated series, and various video games. In the X-Men film series, she is portrayed by Anna Paquin and her visual cue is often the white streak that runs through her hair. Rogues first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10 and she made her first X-Book appearance in Uncanny X-Men #158 and joined the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men #171. Rogue has also had two miniseries and one ongoing title, Rogues real name and early history were not revealed until more than 20 years after her introduction. Until the back story provided by Robert Rodi in the ongoing Rogue series, begun in September 2004 and this resulted in Rodis version of Rogues origins inadvertently conflicting with earlier information. Rogue is a character in Uncanny Avengers, beginning with issue #1. Her parents, Owen and Priscilla, married early in their relationship and lived in a hippie commune in Caldecott County. Born as Anna Marie, she enjoyed the attentions of her Aunt Carrie. Anna Marie was raised speaking colloquial English and French, common to the Mississippi bayou area, the communes failed attempt to use Native American mysticism to reach the Far Banks resulted in Priscillas disappearance. Carrie took over Annas care, and in her grief at the loss of her sister, was a strict, Anna Marie was a rebellious child and, at some point, the exact event or reasons still unclear, she ran away from home as a young teenager

15.
Supervillain
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A supervillain is a variant of the villainous stock character archetype commonly found in American comic books, sometimes possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero, Supervillains are often used as foils to present a daunting challenge to a superhero. Other traits may include megalomania and possession of considerable resources to further their aims, many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real world dictators, gangsters, and terrorists, with aspirations of world domination or universal leadership. Some notable examples of female supervillains are Catwoman, Mystique, Harley Quinn, Talia al Ghul, Supervillains are sometimes members of supervillain groups, such as the Sinister Six, the Suicide Squad, the Brotherhood of Mutants, the Injustice League, and the Masters of Evil. The dictionary definition of supervillain at Wiktionary Media related to Supervillains at Wikimedia Commons

16.
Mister Sinister
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Mister Sinister is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #221 and was created by writer Chris Claremont, Mister Sinister has appeared in a number of X-Men titles including spin-offs and several limited series. The character has featured in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, toys, trading cards. IGNs list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Mister Sinister as #29, in 2008, Sinister was ranked #6 at Marvel. com on their list of Top 10 X-Men villains. Writer Chris Claremont conceived Sinister as a new villain for the X-Men, in effect what we were setting up was a guy who was aging over a lifespan of roughly a thousand years. Even though he looked like an 11-year-old, hed actually been alive since the mid-century at this point—he was actually about 50 He had all the grown up urges, hes growing up in his mind but his body isnt capable of handling it, which makes him quite cranky. And, of course, looking like an 11-year-old, whod take him seriously in the criminal community. So he built himself an agent in a sense, which was Mister Sinister, that was, in effect and its what would scare a child. Even when he was designed, he wasnt what youd expect in a guy like that, in the following issue, the X-Men member Psylocke picks up a shadowy mental image of the Marauders Master from Sabretooths mind. Mister Sinister finally appeared on-panel in issue #221, after a battle with the X-Men and X-Factor, the villain is apparently destroyed by Cyclops optic beam. Classic X-Men #41–42 details the role Mister Sinister played in Cyclops life at the orphanage in Nebraska, the story features a boy named Nathan who is obsessively fixated on Cyclops — and whom Claremont intended to actually be Mister Sinister. However, as Claremont left the X-Men comics, this origin was never revealed in-story, Mister Sinister returns in the title X-Factor, leading the Nasty Boys and has allied himself with the mutant terrorist Stryfe. In the crossover storyline X-Cutioners Song, the character impersonates Apocalypse and uses his Four Horsemen to capture Cyclops, Sinister hands them over to Stryfe in exchange for a canister containing his genetic material, but finds it empty, unknowingly unleashing the Legacy Virus in the process. Afterwards, Sinister confronts Cyclops to reveal that the contained the deadly Legacy Virus. It was during this conversation, that Sinister said, I care enough to wish you and your brothers to be protected from this illness, in 1996, Mister Sinisters origin story was told in the limited series, The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix. It established the character as Nathaniel Essex, a scientist from the 19th century obsessed with evolution who made a pact with the ancient mutant Apocalypse to become an immortal being. It is furthermore established that Mister Sinister created Cyclopss son Nathan to destroy Apocalypse and it was also revealed that Sinister had initiated the Morlock Massacre because he saw his signature in them, and he would not allow unauthorized use of his theories, so they were slaughtered. Though some of his Marauders did not survive the battle, many of them returned thanks to Sinisters genetics mastery and he also considered doing the same with the Genosha mutates, who were experiments of Sugar Man

17.
Louisiana
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Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the state in the U. S. with political subdivisions termed parishes. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Much of the lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh. These contain a rich southern biota, typical examples include birds such as ibis, there are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a process in the landscape. These support a large number of plant species, including many species of orchids. Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other state, including four that are federally recognized, ten that are state recognized. Before the American purchase of the territory in 1803, the current Louisiana State had been both a French colony and for a period, a Spanish one. In addition, colonists imported numerous African people as slaves in the 18th century, many came from peoples of the same region of West Africa, thus concentrating their culture. Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715, when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane. The suffix -ana is a Latin suffix that can refer to information relating to an individual, subject. Thus, roughly, Louis + ana carries the idea of related to Louis, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist 250 million years ago when there was but one supercontinent, Pangea. As Pangea split apart, the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico opened, Louisiana slowly developed, over millions of years, from water into land, and from north to south. The oldest rocks are exposed in the north, in such as the Kisatchie National Forest. The oldest rocks date back to the early Tertiary Era, some 60 million years ago, the history of the formation of these rocks can be found in D. Spearings Roadside Geology of Louisiana. The sediments were carried north to south by the Mississippi River

18.
Cajuns
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Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U. S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles. Today, the Cajuns make up a significant portion of south Louisianas population and have exerted an impact on the states culture. The Acadia region to which modern Cajuns trace their origin consisted largely of what are now Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island plus parts of eastern Quebec and northern Maine. Since their establishment in Louisiana, the Cajuns have developed their own dialect, Cajun French, and developed a vibrant culture including folkways, music, the Acadiana region is heavily associated with them. Arcadia derives from the Arcadia district in Greece which since classical antiquity had the extended meanings of refuge or idyllic place, samuel de Champlain fixed the orthography with the r omitted in the 17th century. The term eventually came to only to the northern part of the coast in what is now Canada. The Cajuns retain a unique dialect of the French language and numerous other cultural traits that distinguish them as an ethnic group, Cajuns were officially recognized by the U. S. government as a national ethnic group in 1980 per a discrimination lawsuit filed in federal district court. The Louisiana Acadian is alive and well and he is up front and mainstream. He is not asking for any special treatment, by affording coverage under the national origin clause of Title VII he is afforded no special privilege. He is given only the protection as those with English, Spanish, French, Iranian, Portuguese, Mexican, Italian, Irish. The British Conquest of French Acadia happened in 1710, over the next 45 years, the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this period, Acadians participated in militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French fortress of Louisbourg. During the French and Indian War, the British sought to neutralize the Acadian military threat, during 1755-1763 Acadia consisted of parts of present-day Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and the Gaspe Peninsula in the province of Quebec. The deportation of the Acadians from these areas has become known as the Great Upheaval or Le Grand Dérangement, the Acadians migration from Canada was spurred by the Treaty of Paris which ended the war. The treaty terms provided 18 months for unrestrained emigration, many Acadians moved to the region of the Atakapa in present-day Louisiana, often travelling via the French colony of Saint-Domingue. Joseph Broussard led the first group of 200 Acadians to arrive in Louisiana on February 27,1765, on April 8,1765, he was appointed militia captain and commander of the Acadians of the Atakapas region in St. Martinville. Some of the settlers wrote to their family scattered around the Atlantic to encourage them to them at New Orleans. For example, Jean-Baptiste Semer, wrote to his father in France, My dear father you can come here boldly with my dear mother and they will always be better off than in France

19.
X-Force
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X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in New Mutants #100, the group was originally a revamped version of the 1980s team, the New Mutants. X-Forces first leader was the mutant Cable, an offshoot of the X-Men, X-Force takes a more militant and aggressive approach towards its enemies compared to the X-Men. X-Force was canceled with #129 and relaunched as X-Statix, which coincided with a rebranding of the team in the story. After X-Statix was canceled with #26, Marvel reunited the original X-Force team for a six-issue 2004 limited series plotted, in 2007–2008, during the Messiah Complex crossover, a new version of the X-Force team was formed with Wolverine leading a more militaristic black-ops branch of the X-Men. This squad would form the basis for a new X-Force series starting February 2008 by writers Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, the series came to a conclusion in September 2010 as part of the Second Coming storyline that ran through various X-titles. A concurrent X-Force book written by Dennis Hopeless, Cable and X-Force, was released at the same time, the two series ended in 2014 after a crossover between the two titled Vendetta. A new X-Force, was launched featuring a black-ops squad composed of Cable, Psylocke, Fantomex and Marrow, written by X-Men, X-Force was created by illustrator Rob Liefeld after he started penciling The New Mutants comic book in 1989 with #86. The popularity of Liefeld’s art led to him taking over the duties on the book. With help from writer Fabian Nicieza, who provided the dialogue for Liefeld’s plots, Liefeld transformed the New Mutants into X-Force in New Mutants #100, Liefeld and Nicieza launched X-Force in August 1991. Rob Liefeld obtained the name for the series from an unknown artist at a convention a few prior to its release. The original line-up of the team included Boom Boom, Cable, Cannonball, Domino, Feral, Shatterstar, in later issues, X-Forces roster would include Siryn, Rictor and Sunspot. The main opponents of X-Force during its first year were the terrorist Mutant Liberation Front, led by Stryfe, early issues also featured the wise-cracking mercenary Deadpool, the immortal Externals, and a new version of the Brotherhood of Mutants. Propelled by Liefelds art, X-Force became one of Marvel’s bestselling comic books immediately after its debut, the series rivaled The Amazing Spider-Man and Uncanny X-Men in popularity, particularly with the adolescent demographic. Toy Biz responded to X-Forces popularity by introducing an X-Force action figure line alongside its X-Men action figure line, along with six other popular Marvel artists, Liefeld left Marvel Comics in 1992 to form Image Comics. X-Force continued with Nicieza writing and Greg Capullo illustrating, Nicieza, who also wrote X-Men, vol. 2, helped plot the X-Cutioners Song storyline that overlapped into most X-Men related books in the fall of 1992, in that story, Stryfe frames Cable for an assassination attempt on the X-Men’s founder Professor X, leading to a clash between the X-Men and X-Force. The crossover boosted Cables popularity, despite the apparent death in X-Force #18

20.
Age of Apocalypse
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Age of Apocalypse is a 1995–1996 comic book crossover storyline published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616 and had ramifications in the main Marvel Comics universe when the timeline was restored. It was later retconned as having occurred in the universe of Earth-295. The event was bookended by two one shots, X-Men Alpha and X-Men Omega, the storyline starts with Legion, a psychotic mutant who traveled back in time to kill Magneto before he can commit various crimes against humanity. Legion accidentally kills Professor Charles Xavier, his father, leading to a change in the timeline. The death of Professor Xavier leads Apocalypse to attack 10 years sooner than he did in the timeline, taking control of earth. Apocalypse is opposed by several factions of mutant resistance, including a group led by Magneto, the group manages to send the mutant Bishop back in time to prevent the murder of Professor Xavier, undoing the entire timeline. The Dark Angel Saga in 2011 also revisited the alternate reality once more, the world was also featured as part of Marvels 2015 Secret Wars. Legion, a mutant on Earth and son of Professor Charles Xavier. However, Legion travels to a time when Magneto and Xavier are still friends, as Xavier dies trying to protect Magneto, Legion vanishes, and a new timeline is created. The only person aware of how history has changed is Bishop, because of Xaviers sacrifice, Magneto comes to believe in his late friends dream of a peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants. Apocalypse, a mutant villain, was monitoring the fight. He chooses this moment as the time to begin his world conquest. Magneto assembles the X-Men just as Apocalypse begins his war, despite the X-Mens resistance, Apocalypse conquers all of North America and eventually mutants are considered the ruling class. Apocalypse also initiated a campaign called cullings killing millions of humans. To further ensure that no one was left to him or undo the circumstances that led to his reign. Meanwhile, the changes in the result in a destructive crystallization wave created by the MKraan Crystal. X-Men, Alpha was published in January,1995, and launched the Age of Apocalypse crossover story and it briefly shows readers how many popular X-Men characters have changed in this new world

21.
IGN
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The website was the brainchild of media entrepreneur Chris Anderson and launched on September 29,1996. It focuses on games, films, television, comics, technology, the company is located in San Franciscos SOMA district in California, United States. Originally a network of websites, IGN is now distributed on mobile platforms, console programs on the Xbox and PlayStation, FireTV, Roku, and via YouTube, Twitch, Hulu. IGN was sold to publishing company Ziff Davis in February 2013 and now operates as a J2 Global subsidiary. com, PSXPower, Saturnworld, Next-Generation. com and Ultra Game Players Online. Imagine expanded on its owned-and-operated websites by creating a network that included a number of independent fansites such as PSX Nation. com, Sega-Saturn. com, Game Sages. In 1998, the network launched a new homepage that consolidated the individual sites as system channels under the IGN brand, the homepage exposed content from more than 30 different channels. Next-Generation and Ultra Game Players Online were not part of this consolidation, dissolved with the cancellation of the magazine, and Next-Generation was put on hold when Imagine decided to concentrate on launching the short-lived Daily Radar brand. In February 1999, Imagine Media incorporated a spin-off that included IGN and its channels as Affiliation Networks. In September, the newly spun-out standalone internet media company, changed its name to Snowball. com, at the same time, small entertainment website The Den merged into IGN and added non-gaming content to the growing network. Snowball held an IPO in 2000, but shed most of its properties during the dot-com bubble. In June 2005, IGN reported having 24,000,000 unique visitors per month, with 4.8 million registered users through all departments of the site, IGN is ranked among the top 200 most-visited websites according to Alexa. In September 2005, IGN was acquired by Rupert Murdochs multi-media business empire, News Corporation, IGN celebrated its 10th anniversary on January 12,2008. IGN was headquartered in the Marina Point Parkway office park in Brisbane, California, on May 25,2011, IGN sold its Direct2Drive division to Gamefly for an undisclosed amount. In 2011, IGN Entertainment acquired its rival UGO Entertainment from Hearst Corporation, ultimately, News Corp. planned to spin off IGN Entertainment as a publicly traded company, continuing a string of divestitures for digital properties it had previously acquired. Financial details regarding the purchase were not revealed, prior to its acquisition by UGO, 1UP. com had previously been owned by Ziff Davis. Soon after the acquisition, IGN announced that it would be laying off staff and closing GameSpy, 1UP. com, the role-playing video game interest website Vault Network was acquired by IGN in 1999. GameStats, a review website, was founded by IGN in 2004. GameStats includes a GPM rating system incorporates an average press score and average gamer score

22.
ComicsAlliance
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ComicsAlliance was a website dedicated to covering the comic book industry as well as comic-related media, and is owned by Townsquare Media. The site has been nominated for awards including a 2015 Eisner Award win in the category Best Comics Periodical/Journalism. ComicsAlliance was established in 2007 as part of a network of sites owned by AOL. The site featured writing from critics including David Brothers, Andy Khouri, Caleb Goellner, laura Hudson became the editor-in-chief in 2009. In 2012 Hudson left the site, with former Vertigo Comics editor Joe Hughes later announced as the new editor-in-chief, on April 26,2013, ComicsAlliance and the AOL Music properties were abruptly shut down. On June 2,2013, AOL sold ComicsAlliance and several of the AOL Music blogs to Townsquare Media, with editors Joe Hughes, Andy Khouri, in 2015 the site was the recipient of an Eisner Award in the category Best Comics Periodical/Journalism. As of April 2017, ComicsAlliance has been placed on hiatus by Townsquare Media. The longest-running column on the site is Ask Chris, written by Chris Sims, in 2011, Sims was featured on The Daily Show as part of a feature on the Batman comics series, credited as a ‘Batmanologist’. Additional features of note for the site have included Kate or Die, a comic from cartoonist Kate Leth, as well as Best Art Ever. The podcasts War Rocket Ajax and The Arkham Sessions have both been serialised on the site

23.
X-Men (film series)
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X-Men is an American media franchise of 21st Century Fox that is centered on a series of superhero films, produced by 20th Century Fox. The franchise is based on the fictional X-Men characters, who appeared in a series of comic books created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. A prequel, X-Men, First Class, was released in 2011, followed by X-Men, Days of Future Past in 2014, Deadpool was also released in 2016 and became the highest-grossing film of the series, as well as the highest-grossing worldwide R-rated film of all time. The film series is the seventh-highest-grossing, having earned over US$4.9 billion worldwide, X-Men, X2, X-Men, First Class, X-Men, Days of Future Past and the spin-offs The Wolverine, Deadpool and Logan were all met with positive reviews. X-Men and X2 were particularly lauded by critics for their dark, realistic tones and subtexts dealing with discrimination, X-Men, The Last Stand and X-Men, Apocalypse were met with mixed reviews, while X-Men Origins, Wolverine received negative reviews from critics. Since 2000, the series has expanded to include comic books, videogames, live action television series. Hugh Jackman has appeared in films in the series than any other actor. The film introduces Wolverine and Rogue into the conflict between Professor Xaviers X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto, in 1994, 20th Century Fox and producer Lauren Shuler Donner bought the film rights to the X-Men. Andrew Kevin Walker was hired to write, and James Cameron expressed interest in producing, eventually, Bryan Singer signed on to direct in July 1996. Although he was not a comic fan, Singer was fascinated by the analogies of prejudice. John Logan, Joss Whedon, Ed Solomon, Christopher McQuarrie, principal photography began in September 1999 in Toronto, Canada, and ended in March 2000. The film was released on July 14,2000, in the film, Colonel William Stryker brainwashes and questions the imprisoned Magneto about Professor Xaviers mutant-locating machine, Cerebro. Stryker attacks the X-Mansion and brainwashes Xavier into locating every mutant on the planet to kill them, the X-Men must team up with the Brotherhood to prevent Strykers worldwide genocide. Hayter and Zak Penn were hired to write their own scripts for the sequel, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris were hired to re-write the script in February 2002, writing around 26 drafts and 150 on set. Principal photography began in June 2002 in Vancouver, Canada, the film was released on May 2,2003. In the film, a company has developed a suppressor of the mutant gene. Magneto declares war on the humans and retrieves his own weapon, Phoenix, a final battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood ensues, and Wolverine must accept that in order to stop Grey, he will have to kill her. Singer initially intended to shoot the film back-to-back with a fourth film, Penn and Simon Kinberg were hired the following month

24.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
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X-Men Origins, Wolverine is a 2009 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics fictional character Wolverine, distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the installment and the first spinoff of the standalone Wolverine trilogy from the X-Men film series. The film was directed by Gavin Hood, written by David Benioff and Skip Woods and it co-stars Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan and Ryan Reynolds. The film is a prequel/spin-off focusing on the violent past of the mutant Wolverine, the film was mostly shot in Australia and New Zealand, with Canada also serving as a location. Filming took place from January to May 2008, a second Wolverine film titled The Wolverine was released in 2013 to positive reviews and much greater success. In 1845, James Howlett, a boy living in Canada, the trauma activates the boys mutation, bone claws protrude from his knuckles, and he impales Thomas, who reveals that he is Jamess real father before dying. James flees along with Thomass other son Victor Creed, who is thus Jamess half-brother and has a healing factor mutation like James and they spend the next century as soldiers, fighting in the American Civil War, both World Wars, and the Vietnam War. In Vietnam, the increasingly violent Victor attempts to rape a Vietnamese woman, James happens upon the fight and defends Victor, resulting in the pair being sentenced to execution by firing squad, which they survive due to their mutant healing abilities. Major William Stryker approaches them in custody and offers them membership in Team X, a group of mutants including Agent Zero, Wade Wilson, John Wraith, Fred Dukes. They join the team for a few years, with James now using the alias Logan, but Victor, six years later, Logan is working as a lumberjack in Canada, where he lives with his girlfriend Kayla Silverfox. Stryker and Zero approach Logan at work, Stryker reports that Wade and Bradley have been killed, and he thinks someone is targeting the teams members. Logan refuses to rejoin Stryker, but after finding Kaylas bloodied body in the woods and he finds him at a local bar, but Logan loses the subsequent fight. Afterward, Stryker explains that Victor has gone rogue, and offers Logan a way to become strong enough to get his revenge, Logan undergoes a painful operation to reinforce his skeleton with adamantium, a virtually indestructible metal. Zero kills them the morning and tries to kill Logan. Logan locates John and Fred at a boxing club, Fred explains that Victor is still working for Stryker, hunting down mutants for Stryker to experiment on at his new laboratory, located at a place called The Island. Fred mentions Remy Gambit LeBeau, the one who escaped from the island. John and Logan find LeBeau in New Orleans, then both fight Victor, who kills John and extracts his DNA, agreeing to help release mutants that Stryker has captured, Gambit takes Logan to Strykers facility on Three Mile Island. Logan learns that Kayla is alive, having been coerced by Stryker into surveilling him in exchange for her sisters safety

25.
Taylor Kitsch
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Taylor Kitsch is a Canadian actor and model. He is best known for his work in such as X-Men Origins, Wolverine, Battleship, John Carter, Savages. Kitsch was born in Kelowna, British Columbia and his mother, Susan, worked for the BC Liquor Board, while his father, Drew Kitsch, worked in construction. His parents separated when he was one, and he and his two brothers, Brody and Daman, were raised by their mother in a mobile home park. He also has two younger maternal half-sisters, Kitsch lived in Port Moody and Anmore. He started playing ice hockey at age 3 and he attended Gleneagle Secondary School in Coquitlam. He played junior ice hockey for the Langley Hornets in the British Columbia Hockey League, following his injury, Kitsch took nutrition and economics courses at the University of Lethbridge for a year and lived with his brother. Kitsch moved to New York City in 2002, after receiving an opportunity to pursue modeling with IMG, he studied acting there as well, for a time in New York he was homeless and took to sleeping on subway trains in the middle of the night. In 2004, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he modeled for Diesel and he also appeared in the limited edition coffee table book About Face by celebrity photographer John Russo. For five seasons, Kitsch portrayed the role of Tim Riggins, the series premiered in October 2006 to universal critical acclaim from critics and over 7.7 million viewers. Kitsch has ruled out reprising his role in a film sequel to the television series. He played Pogue Parry in The Covenant, alongside Steven Strait, Sebastian Stan, Laura Ramsey, Toby Hemingway, Jessica Lucas, in February 2008, he signed on to play Gambit in the X-Men franchise spinoff X-Men Origins, Wolverine, released in May 2009. Of the fan-favorite character Gambit, Kitsch states, I knew of him, Im sure Im still going to be exposed to that. I love the character, I love the powers, and I love what they did with him, I didnt know that much, but in my experience, it was a blessing to go in and create my take on him. Im excited for it, to say the least, in 2010, Kitsch starred in Steven Silvers The Bang Bang Club, an historical drama set in South Africa which documents the final bloody days of the apartheid. He had to lose 35 pounds in two months to play the role of photojournalist Kevin Carter, alongside Ryan Phillippe and Malin Åkerman. In November 2010, The Hollywood Reporter named Kitsch as one of the male actors who are pushing – or being pushed into taking over Hollywood as the new A-List. In the Disney film John Carter, based on Edgar Rice Burroughss sword-and-sandal novel A Princess of Mars, he played the title character, a Confederate soldier who is transported to Mars

26.
Channing Tatum
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Channing Matthew Tatum is an American actor, dancer, and former stripper. Tatum made his debut in the drama film Coach Carter. His breakthrough role was in the 2006 dance film Step Up and he is known for his portrayal of the character Duke in the 2009 action film G. I. Joe, The Rise of Cobra and its 2013 sequel G. I, Joe films received negative reviews from critics, they were commercially successful, grossing more than $300 million at the box office. Tatum is also known for his role in Magic Mike. He appeared in films as Dear John and The Vow and his other films include Shes the Man, The Dilemma, White House Down, the drama Foxcatcher, The Hateful Eight and Hail, Caesar. Tatum was born in Cullman, Alabama, the son of Kay, a worker, and Glenn Tatum. He has a sister named Paige and he is mostly of English ancestry. His family moved to the Pascagoula, Mississippi area when he was six and he grew up in the bayous near the Mississippi River, where he lived in a rural setting. Tatum has discussed having dealt with attention deficit disorder and dyslexia while growing up, athletic while growing up, he played football, soccer, track, baseball, and performing martial arts, he has said that girls were always biggest distraction in school. As a child, he practiced wuzuquan kung fu, Tatum spent most of his teenage years in the Tampa area, and initially attended Gaither High School. He later attended Glenville State College in Glenville, West Virginia on a football scholarship and he returned home and started working odd jobs. US Weekly reported that around this time Tatum left his job as a roofer and began working as a stripper at a local nightclub, in 2010, he told an Australian newspaper that he wanted to make a movie about his experiences as a stripper. That idea led to the movie Magic Mike, Tatum moved to Miami, where he was discovered by a model talent scout. In 2000, Tatum was first cast as a dancer in Ricky Martins She Bangs music video, after an audition in Orlando, Florida and his experience in the fashion industry began as a model working for noted clients such as Armani and Abercrombie & Fitch. He soon moved into television commercials, landing spots for Mountain Dew. He subsequently signed with Page 305, an agency in Miami. He was cast by Al David for Vogue magazine and soon appeared in campaigns for Abercrombie & Fitch, Nautica, Dolce & Gabbana, American Eagle Outfitters

27.
X-Men: Legacy
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X-Men, Legacy is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring the mutant superhero team, the X-Men. The title began its publication in October 1991 as X-Men, from 2001 until 2004 it was published as New X-Men. It had reverted in issue #157 to its title, but changed again from issue #208 to X-Men. Prior to the change, the series is usually referred to as X-Men, vol.2 because the first series. In addition, a new unrelated ongoing series titled X-Men was later released starting in 2010, X-Men, Legacy was relaunched in 2012 as part of Marvel NOW. with a new issue #1. The volume ended its run after 25 issues in March 2014, in 1991, Marvel launched X-Men, vol. X-Men #1 is still the bestselling book of all time. Chris Claremont, left after three issues due to differences with editor Bob Harras. Writers John Byrne and Scott Lobdell handled dialogue after Claremonts departure, initially, the book focused on a team led by Cyclops, with the other members forming a squad led by Storm. This premise has at times faded from mention, only to be resurrected, X-Men ran for 10 years, with various creative teams. In July 2001 during a revamp of the X-Men franchise, its changed to New X-Men. Along with these modifications, a new writer, Grant Morrison, was assigned to the title, Morrisons tenure on the title dealt with Cyclops, Wolverine, Phoenix, Beast, Emma Frost and Xorn. While the second squad of X-Men in Uncanny continued on as super heroes, the school expanded from simply a training center to a legitimate school with dozens of mutant students, a story idea that was first explored in the X-Men film. One of the controversial events of New X-Men happened in issue #115 when the island of Genosha and its inhabitants. This set the tone that dominated the rest of Morrisons tenure on the book, in June 2004, Chuck Austen, previously the writer of Uncanny X-Men, moved to New X-Men with issue #155. The title of the reverted to its original title of X-Men in July 2004 with issue #157 during the X-Men Reload event. The title was renamed X-Men, Legacy starting in February 2008 with issue #208, the new title reflects a shift in the series direction to focusing on solo X-Men characters versus being a team-based book as the title was previously. The retitled series follows on from the conclusion of the Messiah Complex crossover, shortly after the X-Men presumed him deceased, his body disappeared and his whereabouts were unknown

28.
Storm (Marvel Comics)
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Storm is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly associated with the X-Men. The character first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1, and was created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum. The daughter of a princess from Kenya, but raised in Harlem and Cairo, Storm is a member of a fictional subspecies of humanity known as mutants. Storm has the ability to control the weather and can fly and she is a member of the X-Men, a group of mutant heroes who fight for peace and equality between mutants and humans. Possessing natural leadership skills and some of the most formidable powers in her team, Storm has led the X-Men from time to time, and has also been a member of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. As an adult, Storm married her fellow superhero Black Panther, and was by marriage made queen consort of the African nation of Wakanda, the character is one of the most prominent X-Men, having appeared in many X-Men incarnations. Storm appears in five installments of the live-action X-Men film series, Storm first appeared in 1975 in the comic book Giant-Size X-Men #1, written by Len Wein and pencilled by Dave Cockrum. In this comic, Wein uses a battle against the living island Krakoa to replace the first-generation X-Men of the 1960s with new X-Men, Storm was an amalgam of two characters Cockrum created, The Black Cat and Typhoon. The Black Cat had Storms costume, minus the cape, and was submitted for the new X-Mens original lineup, however, during a hiatus in the new X-Men project, other female cat characters like Tigra were introduced, making the Black Cat redundant. Cockrum liked the idea, and outfitted Typhoon with The Black Cats costume, a cape, in both arcs, Storm is written as a major supporting character. Claremont stayed the main writer of X-Men for the next 16 years, in Uncanny X-Men #102, Claremont established Storms backstory. Storms mother, NDare, was the princess of a tribe in Kenya and descended from a line of African witch-priestesses with white hair, blue eyes. NDare falls in love with and marries American photojournalist David Munroe and they move to Harlem in uptown New York City, where Ororo is born. They later moved to Egypt and lived there until they die during the Suez Crisis in an aircraft attack. Her violent claustrophobia is established as a result of being buried under tons of rubble after that attack and she becomes a skilled thief in Cairo under the benign Achmed el-Gibar and wanders into the Serengeti as a young woman. She is worshipped as a goddess when her powers appear before being recruited by Professor X for the X-Men, Claremont further fleshed out Storm’s backstory in Uncanny X-Men #117. He retroactively added that Professor X, who recruits her in Giant Size X-Men #1 of 1975, had met her as a child in Cairo. As Ororo grows up on the streets and becomes a proficient thief under the tutelage of master thief Achmed el-Gibar and he is able to use his mental powers to temporarily prevent her escape and recognizes the potential in her

29.
Destiny (Irene Adler)
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Destiny is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is known as an adversary of the X-Men, although blind, Destiny was a mutant precognitive able to accurately predict future events. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne, the character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #141 and she died in Uncanny X-Men #255 and was resurrected with a techno-organic virus during the 2009 Necrosha event. She filled several diaries with the history of mutantkind, the search for which was a main storyline in the 2000s series X-Treme X-Men. However, at time, the Comics Code Authority and Marvel policy prohibited the explicit portrayal of gay or bisexual characters. Destiny was simply referred to as the member of the new Brotherhood that Mystique saw as a friend, all the other members being male. Irene Adler was born in Salzburg, Austria, Mystique was working as a consulting detective when Destiny sought her help in understanding the precognitive visions recorded in her diaries. During this time, the two fell in love, background details suggest that this meeting took place around 1900. She was more accurate in predicting near-future events concerning her present environment, in a period of 12 months during her adolescence, Irene had produced 13 volumes of prophecies concerning the late 20th and early 21st centuries. When that period ended, Irene was left blind and haunted by disturbing images of uncertain meaning. She enlisted Ravens services in pursuit of two goals, the deciphering of her prophecies and a mission to prevent the most terrifying of them from ever being fulfilled. The two women would become lifelong friends and lovers. They both discovered that their set goals were difficult to achieve and their abilities would easily allow them to achieve personal success but to shape the future was stated to be next to impossible as it would require social engineering. Together, the two later raised adopted daughter Rogue in their home in fictional Caldecott County, Mississippi and they remained together until Destinys death. In 1946, a Dr. Nathan Milbury was involved with Project, Black Womb, a government project headed by Amanda Mueller and aided by Alexander Ryking, Brian Xavier, Kurt Marko. In the 2008 series X-Men, Legacy, Xavier is searching to find out more about this project, from recent issues, it appears at least Kurt Marko believed their research would result in immortality. Mystique and Destiny formed the second Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, a group of ideologically motivated terrorists and she attempted to assassinate Senator Robert Kelly with a crossbow, but was thwarted by the X-Men and taken into custody. She was rescued from Rykers Island along with the rest of the Brotherhood and she predicted Rogues disappearance from Mystiques custody

30.
X-Treme X-Men
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X-Treme X-Men is the name of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics, the first from 2001 through 2004, and the second from 2012 through 2013. All 46 issues of the first series were written by Chris Claremont, the first 24 issues were drawn by Salvador Larroca, and the final 22 issues were drawn by Igor Kordey. Volume 2 of X-Treme X-Men featured a cast of X-Men characters from alternate dimensions, the series was written by Greg Pak. The thirteenth and final issue was released in April 2013, volume 1 of the series originated as part of a revamp of the X-Men line of comics in 2001. Prior to this revamp, Claremont was writing both of the main X-Men titles, quesada offered Claremont the opportunity to write only one of the core X-titles or to write a third, new core X-Men title. That title was dubbed X-Treme X-Men, in May 2004, prompted by Grant Morrisons departure from New X-Men, Marvel felt that another revamp of the X-Men titles was required. As part of this revamp, called X-Men ReLoad, Chris Claremont returned to writing Uncanny X-Men, X-Treme X-Men was cancelled, with most of its cast and running plotlines being transferred to Uncanny X-Men. Joss Whedon and John Cassadays Astonishing X-Men replaced it as the third core title, the X-Treme X-Men contained Storm, Rogue, Gambit, Bishop, Sage, Thunderbird, Psylocke and Beast as original line up. Psylocke was killed and Beast departed the title in the early goings, later in the series, familiar X-Men characters Cannonball, Lila Cheney, Shadowcat, Magma and Sunspot made regular appearances, with only Cannonball officially joining the team. Evangeline Whedon also made numerous appearances, the title also introduced the character of Red Lotus, who featured heavily in the Australian arc, and was included in issues of the invasion arc. The book picked up on plot threads from Claremonts run on the two main X-Men books. The book is most notable for the death of the popular character Psylocke in its early issues, and it showed how Beast mutated into his lion-like form. The first arc concerns the quest on the part of Storm, the arc also introduces Vargas, who kills Psylocke in order to test the diaries predictions. He also heavily injured Beast, which leads to the transition to New X-Men. In the second arc, the travel to the Savage Land. The team tangles and defeats Brainchild and this disturbed her for some time. The third arc involves Gambit in Australia and the warring gangs, the leader of an Australian mafia dies mysteriously, and the team must protect his mutant children. The mafia and police accuse Gambit of murder of the leader and Bishop

31.
Andy Kubert
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Andrew Andy Kubert is an American comic book artist, son of Joe Kubert, and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists, and the uncle of comics editor Katie Kubert. He is a graduate of and an instructor of second-year classes at The Kubert School, andrew Kubert is the son of Muriel and Joe Kubert, the latter of whom came from a Jewish family in southeast Poland. His siblings include a sister, Lisa, and brothers David, Daniel and he and his siblings were raised in Dover, New Jersey. He is also the uncle of comics editor Katie Kubert and he graduated from The Kubert School, which was founded by his father in Dover. Andy Kubert started his comics career as a letterer at DC Comics in 1980 and his first credited artwork for the company was the story Old Soldiers Never Die in Sgt. He later drew Adam Strange and the Batman versus Predator intercompany crossover and he is best known for his work at Marvel Comics, specifically the companys X-Men titles. An occasional cover artist on Uncanny X-Men and X-Men Classic, Kubert later served as a fill-in penciller for Uncanny X-Men #279-280,2, following Jim Lees departure from Marvel to form Image Comics. Kubert was one of the artists of the X-Cutioners Song storyline which ran through the X-Men titles in 1992 and drew the wedding of Cyclops, Kubert drew the Amazing X-Men limited series as part of the Age of Apocalypse storyline in 1995. In 2001, Kubert drew two issues of the new Ultimate X-Men title, with writers Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada and Paul Jenkins, Kubert produced the Origin limited series which revealed the early history of Wolverine. Kubert collaborated with novelist Neil Gaiman on the Marvel 1602 eight-issue limited series published from November 2003 to June 2004, writer Orson Scott Card and Kubert crafted the Ultimate Iron Man limited series in 2005. Both Kubert and his brother, Adam, signed contracts to work for DC Comics in 2005. Andy Kubert became the penciller of the Batman series and with writer Grant Morrison introduced the Damian Wayne character and he illustrated the covers to Batman, Cacophony, a three-issue miniseries published in November 2008. Kubert drew the two-issue Batman story by Neil Gaiman entitled, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader and this reunited Gaiman and Kubert, who previously worked together on the series Marvel 1602. While his brother Adam has returned to Marvel Comics following his three-year deal with DC, Kubert had two more Batman projects in the works, one of which he would write himself. He contributed covers to the Blackest Night, Batman mini-series, as well as variant covers for Blackest Night issues of Green Lantern, in late 2009, DC announced that Andy Kubert was working on two DC stories, one featuring Batman, the other featuring the DCU. Kuberts father Joe inked over his pencils on the first two issues of DC Universe, Legacies, a 10 issue series chronicling the history of the DC Universe. Andy Kubert contributed to Batman #700, teaming again with Grant Morrison to tell another tale of Damian Wayne as Batman in the future as part of the anniversary issue. In 2011 Kubert illustrated the DC miniseries Flashpoint, in 2013 Kubert wrote and drew Damian, Son of the Batman, a four-issue mini series about Robin in an alternate future

32.
Clay Mann
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Clay Mann is a comic book artist who has worked for Valiant, Marvel and DC Comics. He has a brother named Seth Mann who works primarily as his inker. Archived from the original on April 20,2011, wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con, Interview With Clay Mann. Clay Mann on Twitter Clay Mann deviant art page Clay Mann profile on Comic Vine Seth Mann profile on Comic Vine

33.
Peter David
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Peter Allen David often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games. His notable comic book includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, Supergirl, X-Factor. His Star Trek work includes both comic books and novels such as Imzadi, and co-creating the New Frontier series and his other novels include film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10, Alien Force and Nickelodeons Space Cases. David has earned awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award. David was born September 23,1956 in Fort Meade, Maryland to Gunter and Dalia and he has two siblings, a younger brother named Wally, who works as a still life photographer and musician, and a younger sister named Beth. David first became interested in comics when he was five years old, reading copies of Harvey Comics Casper. He became interested in superheroes through the Adventures of Superman TV series, as a result, David read those comics in secret, beginning with his first Marvel book, Fantastic Four Annual #3, which saw the wedding of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman. His parents eventually allowed him to start reading superhero titles and his favorite title was Superman, and he cites John Buscema as his favorite pre-1970s artist. Davids earliest interest in writing came through the work of his father, Gunter, who would sometimes review movies. While Gunter would write his reviews back at the office, Peter would write his own. David lived in Bloomfield, New Jersey, in a house on Albert Terrace, and attended Demarest Elementary School, and later moved to Verona, New Jersey. By the time he entered his teens, he had lost interest in comic books, Davids best friend in junior high and first year in high school, Keith, was gay, and David has described how both of them were targets of ostracism and harassment from homophobes. Although his family moved to Pennsylvania, his experiences in Verona soured him on that town. He would later make Verona the home location of villain Morgan le Fay in his novel Knight Life, a seminal moment in the course of his aspirations occurred when he met writer Stephen King at a book signing, and told him that he was an aspiring writer. King signed Davids copy of Danse Macabre with the inscription, Good luck with your writing career, which David now inscribes himself onto books presented to him by fans who tell him the same thing. Other authors that David cites as influences include Harlan Ellison, Arthur Conan Doyle, parker, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Robert Crais and Edgar Rice Burroughs. David has singled out Ellison in particular as a writer whom he has tried to emulate, David attended New York University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism

34.
New Orleans
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New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U. S. Census, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723, as it was established by French colonists and it is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music, and its celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is referred to as the most unique in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranks third in population, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish, La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded May 7,1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time and his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, during the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a campaign against the British from the city in 1779. New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French oversight, nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, the most notable exception being the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans, and Italians, Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The Haitian Revolution ended in 1804 and established the republic in the Western Hemisphere. It had occurred several years in what was then the French colony of Saint-Domingue

35.
Candra (comics)
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Candra, sometimes called Kandra is a fictional character, a mutant supervillainess appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a member of the Externals and has exhibited immensely powerful telekinetic abilities in addition to being immortal and this deal was broken by Gambit, whom she encountered when he journeyed back to the past to stop the Thieves Guild from giving her the secrets of Apocalypse. It was later revealed that Candra had placed the sum total of her power into a gem, with the stone intact, Candra would have been able to achieve true immortality as her essence would always be restored. When Storms teacher Achmed El Gibár died, Candra convinced the young thief Jamil, after a lengthy battle, Cyclops destroyed the gem which in turn appeared to have killed Candra, as she dissipated into nothingness. In fact while the X-Men managed to destroy Candras body, her powerful psyche still lived on, now calling herself Red Death, Candra has become an immortal death powered telekinetic zombie. She tried to get the essences of Scarlet Spider and Wolverine to finally return entirely, after a ferocious battle against Wolverine, she was apparently killed by Scarlet Spider, who stung her in the head, however, Belladonna announced that she would still find a way to return. Candras mutant ability is telekinesis, the ability to move objects with the mind, Candra can use this ability at a molecular level and often uses it to activate latent mutant genes in an individual, granting them active mutant powers. She has also implied that, once given, she can take these abilities away. She also uses this ability to heal herself and, apparently, after having her body destroyed, Candra gained the ability to drain the life force from the death of a victim, which she needs to maintain her own body together. She has demonstrated pyrokinesis as well, Candra was one of the accomplices to Apocalypse in the Age of Apocalypse reality, and held the title Herald of Apocalypse. She was also one of his first Horsemen, and was chosen to lead the other Horsemen after Sabretooth refused to use weapons to attack North America. She is not seen after the attack on Cape Citadel, a character based on Candra is featured in the X-Men animated series episode X-Ternally Yours. She is not as evil as her comics counterpart, more focused on the tithe. She eventually turns on the Assassins, after they threaten the tithe by kidnapping the Thieves chosen one Bobby and her name is never given, the character is referred to only as The Spirit or The X-Ternal. Another difference is instead of her skin color being light peach in X-Ternally Yours her skin color is dark brown. Candra in X-Men Character Bios Bella Donnas Comic Reference HQ Review of X-Men 60, where she plays a prominent role

36.
Hydra (comics)
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Hydra is a fictional terrorist organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The name Hydra is a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra, Hydra agents often wear distinctive green garb featuring a serpent motif. Hydra first appeared in Strange Tales #135, in its original continuity, it was headed by nondescript businessman Arnold Brown, who was killed as S. H. I. E. L. D. Hydra soon returned, however, headed by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, with the support of the Nazi Red Skull, after its initial defeat, several of its branches, such as its scientific branch A. I. M. and the Secret Empire, became independent. Crypt of Shadows #3, published in 1973, reprinted a story from Menace #10, Dr. Nostrum shot all the other scientists on his team after they were turned into monsters, then shot himself after his son put an image from a monster magazine on his mirror. Before the evolution of mankind, a cabal of immortal hooded reptoids came to Earth, the corrupted Brotherhood of the Spear spread out, ingraining itself like a multi-headed serpent into all facets of human society, from science to magic and politics. As time wore on, the name changed and it included the Cathari sect as well as the Thule Society. The Nazi sub group, funded by the Thule Society, was brought into the main Hydra fold after the end of World War II, however, after Struckers first death, Hydra broke into factions that each adopted its own reorganized modus operandi. Eventually, this fragmentation would lead to a Hydra civil war, in the aftermath of the Secret Invasion and Baron Struckers second death, there followed a series of power struggles which eventually left Hydra without a formal leader. The splintering of Hydra accelerated, with various cells operating seemingly independently, eventually, the Red Skull, returning to his Nazi beliefs, started building a new Hydra from the ground up. However, this brought him conflict with Baron Zemo, who was trying to control what was left of the old Hydra. Hydras level of technology is as advanced as that of any on Earth. Hydra personnel are issued cowled jumpsuits, which have included a number of designs over the years. Originally, the jumpsuits were green with a yellow H design, and later incorporated a red and brown color scheme, surviving fugitive members of the governments of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan are recruited to become the modern incarnation of Hydra. However, after joining Hydra, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker seizes control of the organization, the original Hydra Island was invaded by the Leatherneck Raiders and the Japanese Samurai Squad, and the base was destroyed. Strucker slowly steered the organization towards the goal of world domination. H. I. E. L. D, specifically to counter Hydras threat to world security. After Hydra apparently assassinated S. H. I. E. L. D. s first executive director, Hydra agents attempted to assassinate Nick Fury before his appointment as S. H. I. E. L. D. s Director, but failed. In the wake of von Struckers first death, the elements of Hydra broke into factions that each adopted its own reorganized modus operandi

37.
Weapon X
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Weapon X is a fictional clandestine government genetic research facility project appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are conducted by the Canadian Governments Department K, which turns willing and unwilling beings into living weapons, the project often captures mutants and does experiments on them to enhance their abilities or superpowers, turning them into weapons. The Weapon X Project produced Wolverine, Leech, and other such as Deadpool. Experiment X, or the brutal adamantium-skeletal bonding process, written by Barry Windsor-Smith in his classic story Weapon X, was revealed as part of the Weapon X Project. The first project, Weapon I, pertained to the Super Soldier Project that created Captain America, the Weapon X organization first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #181 and was created by Len Wein and John Romita Sr. It also subjected him to brainwashing in order to bring out his most basic murderous instincts, the scientists christened their new killing machine Weapon X. Wolverines solo series issues #48-50 revealed that Project X also created fabricated memories in the minds of several of its subjects. Weapon X operated through Canadas Department K and was directed by Professor Andre Thorton, at his side were Dr. Abraham Cornelius, Dr. Carol Hines, and Dr. Dale Rice. John Sublime, the director of Weapon Plus, was always behind the scenes, some of the work of Weapon X was based on the experiments detailed on the journals of Nazi scientist Nathan Essex, which were obtained by Weapon Plus after the end of World War II. The projects original test subjects were the members of Team X, the telepath Psi-Borg was involved in the creation of the victims memory implants, in exchange for being endowed with immortality. The test subjects were policed by an adaptive robot enforcer, called Shiva, Weapon X was the first iteration in Weapon Plus that victimized mutants. Weapon X was temporarily shut down, but eventually was reinstated, subsequent attempts at recreating the success seen by Weapon X with Wolverine include Native, Kimura and X-23. The Weapon X Re-Creation Project a. k. a, the Facility was headed by Director Martin Sutter, Dr. Dale Rices son Dr. Zander Rice, and Dr. Sarah Kinney. Like Weapon X once did, the Facility has also branched off from the main Weapon X Program, latter creations of The Facility, now under the direction of Dr. Adam Harkins, include Predator X. At some point, Weapon X branched off from Weapon Plus control and was headed up by Canadas Department K. A new generation of agents were created, Deadpool, Garrison Kane, Slayback, Sluggo, Wyre, Wildchild, Weapon X used Logans DNA in order to endow its agents with healing powers. The batch produced many additional failures, which were sent to a facility for dissection to determine the cause of their failures and these rejects were freed by Deadpool when he escaped from the facility. A smaller experiment was developed by Department K with a New Zealand terrorist merging him with Thetagen-24. Typhoid Mary was also a subject, when she was captured by an Antarctic facility continuing research for the Weapon X Project and their experiments helped give birth to Marys Bloody Mary persona, which exhibited increased psychokinetic powers

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Wolverine (character)
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Wolverine is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, mostly in association with the X-Men. He is a mutant who possesses animal-keen senses, enhanced capabilities, powerful regenerative ability known as a healing factor. Wolverine has been depicted variously as a member of the X-Men, Alpha Flight, the character first appeared in the last panel of The Incredible Hulk #180, with his first full appearance in #181. He was created by writer Len Wein and Marvel art director John Romita, Sr. who designed the character, as a result, the character became a fan favorite of the increasingly popular X-Men franchise, and has been featured in his own solo comic since 1988. Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas asked writer Len Wein to devise a character specifically named Wolverine, John Romita, Sr. designed the first Wolverine costume, and believes he introduced the retractable claws, saying, When I make a design, I want it to be practical and functional. I thought, If a man has claws like that, how does he scratch his nose or tie his shoelaces, Wolverine first appeared in the final teaser panel of The Incredible Hulk #180 written by Wein and penciled by Herb Trimpe. The character then appeared in a number of advertisements in various Marvel Comics publications before making his first major appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181 again by the Wein–Trimpe team. In 2009, Trimpe said he distinctly remembers Romitas sketch and that, The way I see it, sewed the monster together and I shocked it to life. It was just one of secondary or tertiary characters, actually. We did characters in The Hulk all the time that were in issues, though often credited as co-creator, Trimpe adamantly denies having had any role in Wolverines creation. The characters introduction was ambiguous, revealing little beyond his being an agent of the Canadian government. In these appearances, he does not retract his claws, although Wein stated they had always envisioned as retractable. He appears briefly in the finale to this story in The Incredible Hulk #182, Wolverines next appearance was in 1975s Giant-Size X-Men #1, written by Wein and penciled by Dave Cockrum, in which Wolverine is recruited for a new squad. Gil Kane illustrated the artwork but incorrectly drew Wolverines mask with larger headpieces. Dave Cockrum liked Kanes accidental alteration and incorporated it into his own artwork for the actual story, Cockrum was also the first artist to draw Wolverine without his mask, and the distinctive hairstyle became a trademark of the character. A revival of X-Men followed, beginning with X-Men #94, drawn by Cockrum, in X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine is initially overshadowed by the other characters, although he does create tension in the team as he is attracted to Cyclops girlfriend, Jean Grey. Byrne modeled his rendition of Wolverine on actor Paul D’Amato, who played Dr. Hook in the 1977 sports film Slap Shot, Byrne also created Alpha Flight, a group of Canadian superheroes who try to recapture Wolverine due to the expense their government incurred training him. Later stories gradually establish Wolverines murky past and unstable nature, which he battles to keep in check, Byrne also designed a new brown-and-tan costume for Wolverine, but retained the distinctive Cockrum cowl